Public Sector: Pensions

Francis Maude: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 16 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 111-112WS, on guaranteed minimum pension contributions, what the timetable is for the National Audit Office review.

Alan Williams: The National Audit Office is currently developing terms of reference for its review of the causes of the incorrect pension payments. It plans to publish the findings of the review in the early summer.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the latest available figures on the number of anti-social behaviour orders issued in England and Wales relate to the period to December 2006; and when data on anti-social behaviour orders issued after that date will be published.

Alan Campbell: The data on antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) is based on information supplied to the Home Office by courts. This information is compiled by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) for the Home Office.
	ASBO data undergo extensive checking and a rigorous quality assurance process to verify the accuracy and completeness of the data they contain. Since December 2006 ASBO data has been published together with data on all the antisocial behaviour tools and powers collected from Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships (CDRPs) in an annual survey. The publication date of the ASBO data is determined by the complexity of this exercise and timing it to coincide with the CDRP survey.
	Data for 2007 are expected to be available shortly.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Hillingdon

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been  (a) issued and  (b) breached in (i) Uxbridge constituency and (ii) the London borough of Hillingdon since 1 January 2005.

Alan Campbell: Centrally collected data on the numbers of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached are not compiled below criminal justice system area level.

Asylum: Eritrea

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Eritrean asylum-seekers have returned voluntarily to Eritrea in the last year; how many have been granted asylum in the last five years; what plans she has to enforce the return of those who are not granted asylum; and how many are in receipt of section 4 support.

Phil Woolas: There is no policy precluding the return of unsuccessful asylum seekers to Eritrea. Each case is considered on its individual merits against the background of the latest available country information and relevant case law. Individuals found not to be in need of international protection by the asylum decision making process and the independent appeals process are expected to leave the UK voluntarily. If they do not leave voluntarily they may have their return enforced.
	For the period January to September 2008 there were five assisted voluntary returns to Eritrea from the UK. Additionally, for the same period, there were 260 enforced removals of Eritreans including further voluntary departures after enforcement action had been initiated. All removals statistics are for principal applicants only, excluding any dependants who were also removed. Figures relating to the period October to December 2008 will not be available until 24 February 2009.
	Information concerning grants of asylum to Eritrean nationals from 1998-2007 is published in table 3.1 (cases granted asylum) of Asylum Statistics United Kingdom 2007 (bulletin 11/08). Quarterly data for the period January to September 2008 has also been published. This is available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html.
	As at 11 January 2009, there were 902 Eritreans receiving section 4 support. This figure is taken from management information, which is provisional and subject to change.

Asylum: Malawi

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what co-operation her Department receives from the Malawian High Commission and the Malawian Ministry of Home Affairs in connection with establishing the entitlement to Malawian citizenship of asylum seekers who arrive in the UK using Malawian passports but claiming to be Zimbabweans.

Phil Woolas: Information received from asylum seekers for their asylum claim is treated in confidence and the details of their asylum claims are not disclosed to the authorities of the country or countries they fear being returned to. The nationality or entitlement of an applicant to reside in a country is determined by looking at and weighing up all of the available documentary and oral evidence. Where a person holds a genuine Malawian passport or other identity document issued by the Malawian authorities, this would normally be enough to show that the holder is entitled to reside in Malawi.
	Where claims are unsuccessful, limited disclose of information may be made to foreign authorities, including the Malawian authorities where we are returning an individual to Malawi, if it is necessary for travel documentation purposes.
	No reference is made to the fact the individual has claimed asylum in the UK.

Asylum: Malawi

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what co-operation her Department receives from the Malawian High Commission and the Malawian Ministry of Home Affairs in confirming as genuine the Malawian passports of asylum seekers who arrive in the UK using Malawian passports but who claim asylum as Zimbabweans.

Phil Woolas: Information received from asylum seekers for their asylum claim is treated in confidence and the details of their asylum claims are not disclosed to the authorities of the country or countries they fear being returned to. The nationality or entitlement of an applicant to reside in a country is determined by looking at and weighing up all of the available documentary and oral evidence. Where a person holds a genuine Malawian passport or other identity document issued by the Malawian authorities, this would normally be enough to show that the holder is entitled to reside in Malawi.
	Where claims are unsuccessful, limited disclose of information may be made to foreign authorities, including the Malawian authorities where we are returning an individual to Malawi, if it is necessary for travel documentation purposes.
	No reference is made to the fact the individual has claimed asylum in the UK.

Asylum: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers resident in Peterborough constituency were in receipt of section 4 support as at 1 November 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are supported under section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. Unsuccessful asylum seekers may be eligible for support under section 4 of the 1999 Act if they are destitute and there is a temporary barrier to leaving the UK. On 9 November 2008, the nearest date for which figures are available, there were 22 people, excluding dependants, in receipt of section 4 support in the Peterborough constituency.
	The figure provided is management information, not national statistics, which is provisional and subject to change.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department for Transport on the role of registered traveller programmes in enhancing airline security and contributing to the e-borders programme.

Phil Woolas: Ministers and Officials from the Home Office and the Department for Transport have had several discussions concerning the use of "registered traveller" and automated border controls and the contribution they can make to border and passenger security. Both Departments are committed to working together, with airport operators, to introduce new technology to ensure that travel to and from the UK, and the crossing of the border, is quick and safe for all passengers.
	There are currently two automated border control systems in operation: The Iris Recognition Immigration System (IRIS) and the Automated Clearance Service (ACS).
	IRIS is a pre-enrolment scheme for frequent travellers and is in operation at 10 major airports around the UK. ACS is a scheme for UK and European e-passport holders, currently in trial at Manchester and Stansted airports only. It does not require pre-enrolment—passengers simply present their e-Passport as evidence of identity and entitlement to entry. The aim of both schemes is to help low-risk passengers cross the UK Border more quickly. While they are not a formal component of aviation or maritime security policy, both schemes ensure that only passengers who are entitled to cross our border are able to do so.
	In the future, ACS deployment will be fully integrated with the e-Borders system.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with  (a) airline operators,  (b) airport operators and  (c) the Department for Transport on the introduction of authority to carry; and when she expects these discussions to be completed.

Phil Woolas: The e-Borders Programme officials meet regularly with concerned partners. I have recently met with members of the British Air Transport Association, including representatives from British Airways, Virgin and bmi.
	Discussions continue to take place with carrier and port representatives both on an individual level and at regular working groups. In addition the e-Borders programme is represented at the 'Facilitation Stakeholders Forum', organised by the Department for Transport. These meetings provide an opportunity for all e-Borders issues to be discussed, including the Authority to Carry scheme.
	The introduction of an Authority to Carry Scheme will only be brought forward for parliamentary approval, once the full 12 week consultation period with all stakeholders has taken place.

Borders: Personal Records

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average annual cost of applying checks to each individual passenger movement under the e-borders programme.

Phil Woolas: The total gross cost of the e-Borders programme will be £1.4 billion over 10 years from 2007.
	The gross cost to Government is £1.2 billion over that period. The global figure for carriers is £242 million over the same 10-year period, which includes the set-up and running costs.
	The average cost per passenger movement was estimated at 14p when the regulatory impact assessment was prepared in 2006, however we expect this figure to drop considerably and the average to go down as carriers modernise their systems.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much air mileage incurred through departmental and associated agency travel was offset in 2007-08, broken down by  (a) domestic,  (b) short-haul and  (c) long-haul travel.

Phil Woolas: The following table provides a breakdown for how much  (a) domestic,  (b) short haul and  (c) long haul air mileage incurred by the Department and associated agencies through 2007-08 was offset:
	
		
			   Miles 
			 Domestic air travel 3,115,863 
			 Short-haul air travel 1,626,114 
			 Long-haul air travel 3,980,766 
		
	
	The data covers some business areas that are now part of Ministry of Justice.
	The Home Office participates in the Government carbon offsetting fund which is co-ordinated by DEFRA. This ensures the Department offsets carbon dioxide emissions from its official air travel.
	All official travel is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the civil service management code.

Departmental Consultants

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 281W, on departmental consultants, how many passes were issued in the most recent month for which records are available.

Phil Woolas: For the period 1-31 December 2008, where records are available, 22 passes were issued to consultants working in the Home Office HQ.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 336-37W, on Government Departments: information and communications technology, which IP addresses are used by  (a) her Department and  (b) computers in the offices of its (i) Ministers, (ii) communications officials and (iii) special advisers.

Phil Woolas: To help defend against electronic attack, it is standard good information security practice for corporate IT systems, not to publish internal IP addresses.

Deportation: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009 to question 246149, in what format and at what location, information on individuals awaiting determination in respect of applications for indefinite leave to remain in Peterborough is held; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 January 2009
	When an application for indefinite leave to remain is received into UK Border Agency, both a paper file and an electronic record are raised at the same time.
	Our electronic database is called the case information database (CID) and management information is extracted using fixed datasets at any given point in time.

Deportation: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009 to question 246149, what her estimate is of the cost of ascertaining how many individuals in Peterborough have been awaiting determination of their applications for indefinite leave to remain since May 2005; and if she will make a statement.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 20 January 2009
	Producing retrospective management information reports on previous outstanding work in progress is not possible, as the data will have changed as cases are received and cleared. In order to provide this information each individual record would have to be manually identified and analysed before producing a summary report at a disproportionate cost.

Entry Clearances: China

Desmond Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many visa applicants from mainland China have had their applications refused in each of the last three years; of those how many have appealed; how many such appeals have succeeded; and how many decisions have been withdrawn prior to determination of the appeal.

Phil Woolas: The following provides requested statistics received in Mainland China at our embassy in Beijing and the Consulate-Generals in Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou. The number of appeals received in each year does not directly correspond to the number of determinations received as the appeal process takes time and results are received in subsequent years.
	The number of determinations received and the results of those determinations are included to give a more accurate representation of decisions on appealed cases.
	
		
			  UK Border Agency—Determinations and appeals from Mainland China 
			   2006  2007  2008 
			 Total applications refused 1,0969 1,4234 1,8091 
			 Applications with right of appeal 5350 7275 1,1200 
			 Number of appeals received 1,318 1,090 2,270 
			 Appealed applications withdrawn prior to determination 395 250 389 
			 Determination received: successful appeals 614 300 370 
			 Determination received: dismissed appeals 477 469 571 
			 Total determinations received (successful + dismissed) 1,091 769 941

Identity Cards: Contracts

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 10 December 2008,  Official Report, column 196W, on public sector: contracts, whether general break clauses have been included in the contracts for  (a) national identity cards and  (b) the National Identity Register.

Meg Hillier: Contracts being procured for the national identity scheme contain provisions for termination. These contracts cover replacement of and enhancements to existing Passport and UK Border Agency capabilities, as well as to support identity cards in the future. Termination provisions are based on Office of Government Commerce guidance for IT contracts and include terms for ending a contract in the case of poor performance or where a decision is made to terminate early (for 'convenience').

Illegal Immigrants: Employment

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Hertsmere of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1976W, if she will place in the Library a copy of the letter from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member.

Phil Woolas: I can confirm that a copy of the letter dated 14 January 2009 to the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) has been placed in the Library of the House.

Immigration

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce illegal immigration.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 22 January 2009
	We are delivering the biggest shake-up of Britain's border security and immigration system in a generation.
	Last year we launched the UK Border Agency. With a combined budget of £2 billion, a staffing complement of 25,000 and a presence in 135 countries world-wide, Britain's border security is now among the toughest in the world.
	Since the launch of the UKBA our officers have seized over 800 million cigarettes, representing a potential loss of over £149 million in tax revenue, £260 million worth of illegal drugs and have taken 4,800 dangerous weapons, including firearms, stun guns and hundreds of knives, off the streets. For the same period, over 809,000 freight vehicles have been searched at our juxtaposed controls and we stopped over 21,000 attempts to cross the Channel illegally.
	The new points based system and the continuing ban on non-EU low skilled migrants we are controlling migration to ensure that only those the UK needs can come to work and study. This allows us to attract and keep people with the skills our economy needs; maximizing the benefits to Britain.
	Anyone applying for a visa—three quarters of the world's population—now has their fingerprints checked against UK databases. So far we have enrolled over 3.6 million sets of fingerprints detecting over 5,200 identity swaps.
	Airline Liaison Officers have assisted in preventing nearly 210,000 people from boarding planes over the last five years. That is equivalent to about two jumbo jets a week.
	We have also introduced ID cards for foreign nationals and a hi-tech electronic borders system, the e-Borders Programme, which will be fully rolled out by March 2014 and will enable us to count people in and out of Britain. The pilot scheme for the Government's electronic borders system has already checked over 75 million passenger journeys before arrival in the UK, leading to over 2,700 arrests.

Members: Correspondence

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 2257-58W, on genetics: databases, when she plans to write to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield.

Alan Campbell: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary wrote to the hon. Member on 19 January 2009.

Members: Correspondence

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to reply to the letter of 8 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Walsall North on a constituent, reference M4848/7.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 15 January 2009
	The UK Border Agency wrote to the hon. Member on 16 January 2009.

Police: Stop and Search

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long on average a police officer took to  (a) make an arrest,  (b) issue a caution and  (c) conduct a stop and search procedure in England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Vernon Coaker: There is no centrally held data on the time taken to  (a) make an arrest,  (b) issue a caution and  (c) conduct a stop and search procedure in England. This will vary greatly depending on the circumstances of the case and the amount of investigation that precedes these procedures.

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 4 March 2008,  Official Report, column 2479W, on the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre: Government Departments, what the purpose was of each of her Department's conferences organised by R Glasgow and Associates Public Relations Ltd and held in the Conference Centre.

Phil Woolas: Based on the information we hold centrally in the Home Office, between September 2007 and February 2008, we commissioned Glasgow's to support us with the event management of three Home Office events at the QEII Conference Centre. Two were leadership events for senior civil servants (half-day events for 150 delegates at each conference) and one was an AGM for the Network—a staff support group for BME staff—a full-day event for 400 staff.
	Glasgow's is on the Home Office list of agreed suppliers who have expertise in delivering events.

Vetting: Fees and Charges

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1877W, on vetting: fees and charges, whether those people undertaking unpaid voluntary activity which requires them to be monitored are required to pay a registration fee to the Independent Safeguarding Authority.

Meg Hillier: Individuals in paid employment will pay a fee of £64 when applying for registration with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). This fee will not apply to those undertaking unpaid voluntary activity regulated by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.

High Speed Rail Network

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement of 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 356, on transport infrastructure, if he will bring forward proposals to connect Sheffield and other cities in Yorkshire and the East Midlands to a new high speed rail network.

Geoff Hoon: As I announced to the House on 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 356, a new company, "High Speed Two", has been formed to develop the case for high speed services between London and Scotland.
	As a first stage, the company is expected to bring forward detailed proposals for Britain's second new high speed line, between London and the West Midlands, and to consider the potential for new lines to serve the North of England and Scotland.

Rolling Stock Plan

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent representations he has received on the timetable for his Department's rolling stock plan.

Paul Clark: 423 of the 1,300 additional vehicles announced in the Rolling Stock Plan have already been ordered. The Government have recently announced the accelerated procurement of 200 diesel multiple unit vehicles to speed up the process further. It is currently in discussion with train operators on the deployment of additional vehicles announced in the plan. Announcements will be made only after deeds of amendment to train operators' franchise agreements have been concluded.

Bus Services: Concessions

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with  (a) Ministerial colleagues,  (b) the Welsh Assembly Government and  (c) the Scottish Executive on harmonisation of the concessionary bus pass schemes in England, Scotland and Wales.

Paul Clark: The Secretary of State has not had any discussions with ministerial colleagues, the Welsh Assembly Government or the Scottish Executive on the harmonisation of the concessionary bus pass schemes and nor have I. Discussions are taking place at official level with the Devolved Administrations about how reciprocal arrangements for cross-border concessionary travel could work. However we have no immediate plans to introduce such an arrangement at this time.

Departmental Correspondence

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's average response time to a letter received from  (a) an hon. Member and  (b) a member of the public was in each of the last three years.

Geoff Hoon: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of departments in replying to Members correspondence. The report for 2007 was published on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 71-74WS. Information for 2008 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House.
	Information about average response times for replying to correspondence from members of the public cannot be provided within disproportionate costs limits, however, the Department for Transport aims to respond to all written correspondence within 20 working days.

Roads: Salt

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what research his Department has  (a) evaluated,  (b) commissioned and  (c) undertaken on an alternative to sodium chloride for managing the effects of ice on roads.

Paul Clark: Sodium chloride is a cost-effective treatment for the prevention of ice forming and treatment of snow and ice. The Highways Agency has considered other approaches used elsewhere in the world, but there is little evidence to suggest there are cost effective alternatives suitable for the UK that would warrant research.
	Alternatives, such as potassium acetate, are used on some major structures to reduce the potential for corrosion. However, such treatments are over fifty times more expensive than sodium chloride and so are not suitable network wide.
	Recognising that the use of salt has environmental implications the Highways Agency's research is focussing on reducing the amount of salt spread. Increasing use is being made of pre-wetted salt, which results in less loss of salt allowing spread rates to be reduced by up to 25 per cent.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many requests for repair call-outs were received by Modern Housing Solutions in each of the last 12 months.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 26 January 2009
	The number of requests for repair call outs received by Modern Housing Solutions (MHS) is not separately identifiable, however, the number of repair jobs raised in 2008 was as follows:
	
		
			  Month  Number of repair jobs raised 
			 January 23,462 
			 February 18,548 
			 March 19,358 
			 April 18,359 
			 May 17,225 
			 June 16,823 
			 July 18,230 
			 August 17,657 
			 September 20,197 
			 October 21,225 
			 November 19,762 
			 December 17,628 
			 Total 228,474 
		
	
	MHS provide a comprehensive repair and maintenance service to occupants of Service Family Accommodation in England and Wales. Repair requests range from emergencies such as burst water pipes to routine tasks associated with the everyday wear and tear of domestic occupation. Figures also include work orders raised in relation to communal areas, children's playgrounds and other facilities managed by MHS.

Armed Forces: Housing

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1264W, on departmental housing, how many houses owned by his Department were rated as grade  (a) one,  (b) two,  (c) three and  (d) four in (i) 2005, (ii) 2006 and (iii) 2007.

Bob Ainsworth: Officials are working to identify what information can be provided. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Departmental Marketing

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on the banner stands bearing his image and title placed in his Department's main building; and how many such stands have been purchased.

John Hutton: Two pictures were purchased for a total cost of £381. Pictures of this type are routinely produced by the department for new Secretaries of State as a part of the internal communications process. The stands were already owned and there was no cost involved in their use.

Olympic Games 2012: Construction

Alan Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what proportion of materials delivered to the Olympic Park have adhered to the Olympic Delivery Authority's target of 95 per cent. to be transported by sustainable methods.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority's sustainable development strategy set an aspiration to transport 50 per cent. of construction materials (by weight) by sustainable means. This target is reflected in the planning obligations for the Olympic park. As at November 2008, 57 per cent. of construction material has arrived by rail and/or water.

Members: Allowances

Francis Maude: To ask the Leader of the House with reference to the hon. Member for Chichester of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1579W, on Members: allowances, what methodology is used to estimate the date upon which Members are deemed to incur costs; and whether hon. Members may spend against the communications allowance in the period between the announcement of a general election and the dissolution of Parliament in circumstances where the invoice for such expenditure is dated of a day upon which Parliament has been dissolved.

Chris Bryant: In general, the invoice or purchase date denotes when a Member has incurred a cost to be met from the allowances.
	The rules relating to the Communications Allowance, as given in the 'General Election Arrangements—Rules for Members', state that
	"claims from the Communications Allowance which relate to the period after the date the House is dissolved will not be met".
	Therefore, an invoice for goods or services dated after the date of Dissolution will not be paid. In addition, material paid for from the Communications Allowance cannot be distributed in any form after Dissolution irrespective of when the invoice was raised or the costs settled.

Ministerial Corrections

Francis Maude: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the Ministerial Correction of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 72W, correcting the answer of 11 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1129W, what role she personally played in  (a) issuing the original answer and  (b) issuing the correction.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend is responsible for all parliamentary questions and written ministerial statements issued in her name.

Bees: Research

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the written ministerial statement of 14 January 2009,  Official Report, column 14WS, on a new science agency, whether the Food and Environment Research Agency plans to  (a) undertake and  (b) commission research into bee health; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: The Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA), is a new executive agency of DEFRA which will come into being on 1 April 2009. Overall policy responsibility for bee health, including management of any research funding, will transfer into the agency. The National Bee Unit (NBU) (which will also be part of FERA) currently delivers DEFRA's bee health programme and undertakes research in support of the programme and will continue to so as part of FERA. The NBU will also continue to apply for funds from DEFRA and other organisations to carry out projects on other bee issues.
	DEFRA has recently announced additional funding for bee health research. £400,000 added to the existing c. £200,000 provision for each of the next five years. £500,000 per annum of this will be transferred to a new research programme which will consider the wider problems facing pollinators. The details of the research programme are still being negotiated with other potential funders and collaborators. We will announce further details once these negotiations are complete.

Birds

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Cheltenham of 1 April 2008,  Official Report, column 726W, on birds: trade, which organisation has been contracted by his Department to assess the effects of the prohibition on the importation of wild birds into the EU; when the contract was let; what the stipulated date of completion of the contract is; how much the contract has cost his Department to date; and when he expects a report on the assessment to be published;
	(2)  when he expects the report on the effects of the prohibition on the importation of wild birds into the EU to be published; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The contract was let on 13 December 2006 to the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). The initial completion date for the work was 1 September 2007 but because of difficulties experienced by UNEP-WCMC in making contact with some countries their investigations were extended. An initial report was subsequently received on 18 January 2008. Uncertainties about some of the content of the report have delayed its finalisation, but it is now expected to be published in time for it to be presented to the next EU CITES Management Committee on 13 March. The cost of the contract has been £70,000.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of the IT systems in  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies are fully accredited to the Government's security standards.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA and its Agencies have over 1,000 discrete application systems of varying size, complexity and age. The build and management of IT systems is subject to a number of over-arching security controls that apply across the DEFRA IT estate. A joint project with DEFRA's IT service provider is under way to review all existing systems. Those continuing to meet an operational requirement will be subject to a formal accreditation procedure. For new systems, the accreditation process defined in the new Government Security Policy Framework (SPF) will be embedded into the system development life cycle.
	While it is not possible to provide an accurate assessment of the percentage of IT systems accredited to Government security standards across DEFRA and its agencies it is a fact that the DEFRA IT network infrastructure is accredited to Government standards required for the processing of protectively marked information. Work is currently in hand to ensure that the network fully meets the standards now defined in the SPF.
	In addition the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) network is fully accredited to Government standards, while the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) systems are accredited to ISO27001 standard.

Departmental Telephone Services

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what use  (a) his Department and  (b) service providers under contract to his Department make of (i) 0844 and 0845 telephone numbers and (ii) revenue-sharing telephone numbers for calls from members of the public; for which services such numbers are used; what prefixes are used for revenue-sharing numbers; how much revenue has accrued from revenue-sharing numbers in each of the last five years; what consideration his Department has given to introducing 03-prefixed telephone numbers for calls to all such services; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, the Department has identified 38 0845 telephone numbers, which are used as common national numbers for helplines and enquiry lines covering elements of the Department's business. None of the numbers are revenue sharing. No 0844 numbers have been identified. Information on what use service providers under contract to the Department make of 0844 and 0845 numbers could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department is considering the introduction of 03-prefixed telephone numbers as part of its review of common national numbers.

Environment Protection: Lighting

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research his Department has undertaken on the proportion of domestic lighting fittings which have the capacity to take low-energy fluorescent bulbs.

Jane Kennedy: Since they were first introduced in the 1980s, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) have significantly decreased in size to match the size of old-fashioned incandescent bulbs and are therefore now available for virtually all standard household Edison bayonet and screw fittings.
	In 2007, through its Market Transformation Programme, DEFRA jointly commissioned, with the UK Lighting Association, a survey of household lighting stock and consumer attitudes. When asked, less than 3 per cent. of those interviewed said that they would not buy CFLs because they thought they might not fit their light fittings
	UK homes commonly use fittings other than standard Edison fittings, including spot lamps, fluorescent tubes and novelty fittings. Many fittings are also controlled by dimmer switches and, while dimmable CFLs are now increasingly available on the market, standard CFLs cannot be used with these controls.
	In those instances where CFLs cannot be used, halogen 'look-alike' bulbs can be substituted: these are now on the market and are fully dimmable. However, these do not offer the same level of energy savings as CFLs.

Floods: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations the Environment Agency has received on the waiving of controls on development in flood risk areas of Canvey Island in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Environment Agency has not received representations as described. The Environment Agency advises local authorities which make decisions on planning applications within flood risk areas.

Floods: River Ouseburn

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the strategic co-ordination group set up by the Environment Agency to investigate measures to reduce flood risk in the Ouseburn catchment is expected to report; and on what dates it has met.

Huw Irranca-Davies: A professional partnership consisting of Newcastle city council, the Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water Ltd. was formed to co-ordinate activities exploring flood risk alleviation opportunities across the city.
	The group has met three times since September 2008, most recently on 21 January 2009. A the end of 2008, the group held its first full public meeting, chaired by the leader of the council and attended by over 100 residents. The group expects to report further in March 2009.

Forestry Commission: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, column 476W, on public relations: Forestry Commission, which  (a) external public affairs and  (b) external public relations firms hired in that period; and how much was spent on each firm.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Public affairs and public relations firms engaged by the Forestry Commission deal with a range of activities. These include the promotion of the public forest estate, including advertising and marketing of events and the promotion of visitor facilities and attractions. Other work includes the production and distribution of publicity resources (for example literature, video, display material), support for the regional distribution of Commission news releases, and strategic consultancy, for example preparation of communications plans.
	Some of the expenditure is on externally funded projects in which the Forestry Commission is a partner. A common feature of many of these projects is the focus on community engagement where communications plays a significant role.
	
		
			  Firm  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  Total 
			 Government News Network 24,615.07 17,684.49 22,037.19 36,133.12 294.34 100,764.21 
			 COI Communications 4,516.25 809.05 — — 72,083.88 77,409.18 
			 Angel Tomney Associates 73,706.52 50,485.35 40,106.47 38,263.54 28,083.15 230,645.03 
			 Pennington PR Ltd. 38,243.33 65,621.68 22,178.13 2,203.13 2,702.50 130,948.77 
			 Focus PR Ltd. 31,103.63 55,953.62 — — — 87,057.25 
			 Osprey Communications Ltd. — 16,745.19 24,703.24 25,381.33 — 66,829.76 
			 Richard Darn 10,361.63 12,235.49 17,002.10 17,142.13 23,164.05 79,905.40 
			 James Delanoy — 5,522.50 15,216.25 22,869.69 29,355.04 72,963.48 
			 CSPR Ltd. — — 35,557.74 30,432.50 33,522.73 99,512.97 
			 Creative Concern 40,937.72 68,823.87 78,010.30 91,694.02 103,076.96 382,542.87 
			 Mark Dixon — — 788.82 — — 788.82 
			 Pam Beddard — — — 500.00 — 500.00 
			 Sue Forsyth Associates 5,708.74 1,321.87 8,074.25 176.25 — 15,281.11 
			 Total 229,192.89 295,203.11 263,674.49 264,795.71 292,282.65 1,345,148.85

Inland Waterways Interdepartmental Working Group

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Inter-departmental Working Group on Inland Waterways last met; what its agenda was; and how often the Working Group meets.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Interdepartmental Working Group on Inland Waterways last met on 5 November 2008. Agenda items were: engagement with regional development agencies (with a presentation from the East Midlands Development Agency on regeneration projects linked to waterways); the review of Waterways for Tomorrow; the EFRA report on British Waterways and the Government's response; and the prioritisation of restoration projects. The group plans to meet three or four times a year.

Marine and Coastal Access Bill

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the steps necessary to  (a) implement and  (b) enforce the provisions of the Marine and Coastal Access Bill in respect of activity undertaken in the area between the 12- and 200-mile limits.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Marine and Coastal Access Bill provides a new legislative framework for our marine area, and much of the detailed implementation of the Bill will be through secondary legislation. Further cost-benefit analysis, impact assessments and consultation, both within Government and with the public, will be necessary for many elements of the Bill. These will be undertaken prior to the introduction of secondary legislation and accompanying guidance.
	Effective enforcement is essential to ensure that the rules and regulations designed to manage the marine area are followed. Under the Bill, we are consolidating and modernising existing inspection and investigation powers to provide a core set of common enforcement powers for sea fisheries, marine licensing and nature conservation. These will make it simpler for those being inspected to know what powers inspectors have.
	The impact assessment published alongside the Bill on 4 December 2008 provides our assessment of the key impacts to date of the provisions contained in the Bill. This includes those relating to the implementation and enforcement of sea fisheries, and nature conservation and marine licensing legislation between the 12 and 200 nautical mile limits.
	Discussions with the devolved Administrations continue on an official and ministerial level on those provisions in the Bill for which they have responsibility in the 12-200 nautical mile limit.

Members: Correspondence

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to be able to provide a substantive reply to the hon. Member for Hyndburn's letter of 12 August 2008 on behalf of his constituent, Mr. M. Saunders.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Ministers have received a range of representations about the move from charging based on rateable value to site area charging for surface water drainage. The Government are aware of the affordability issues faced by some customers as a result of the switch and are currently reviewing their position. While the issue is under consideration, letters will continue to be acknowledged, and I will respond in full as soon as possible.

Offenders

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many former prisoners are employed by his Department; and what his Department's policy is on employing former prisoners.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Although information on the criminal history of candidates is collected as part of the recruitment process, this information is not held electronically for members of staff and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Within our recruitment process we carry out character reference checks and undertake security vetting and we request information on criminal records and convictions as part of both processes. When deciding whether or not to confirm an appointment on the basis of the vetting information received, we apply the criteria set out under the rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

Rights Of Way

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 18 March 2008,  Official Report, column 948W, on rights of way, how many further rights of way have been restored by local authorities since March 2008; and what the cost to the public purse of the Discovering Lost Ways programme has been to date.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The Discovering Lost Ways Project has now closed. The total cost incurred by the Countryside Agency and latterly Natural England in preparing for, establishing, running and ending the project was £5.2 million. The 26 cases referred to in the answer on 18 March 2008 continue to be considered by the local authorities concerned. Details of a further 201 cases were passed to relevant authorities at the time of project closure.
	The project was closed because Natural England formed the view that constraints on the ability of highways authorities to process claims and place newly identified historic rights of way on the definitive map within a reasonable timeframe would render the effort and expense of identifying such rights nugatory.
	Accordingly Natural England has now formed a Stakeholder Working Group to bring together key interests nationally to agree a package of strategic reforms, including any it considers would improve the system for processing claims and reduce unnecessary delay and bureaucracy. The Group is expected to report by the end of the year.

South Downs National Park

David Lepper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many postcards his Department has received since 1 December 2008 in support of a South Downs National Park as proposed by the Countryside Agency in 2002.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has received around 16,000 postcards supporting the proposed South Downs National Park since 1 December 2008.

United Utilities

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will meet representatives of United Utilities to discuss the effects of their pricing policies on voluntary sports clubs; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: It is for Ofwat as independent economic regulator of the water industry to approve water company charges schemes. The Government are aware of the problem of affordability faced by some customers as a result of the switch to site area charging for surface water drainage and is looking at what can be done.

Community Relations: Islam

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what meetings Ministers in her Department have had with groups of British Muslims on the possible effects of events in Gaza since 27 December 2008 on community cohesion; and what the names were of the individuals who attended each meeting.

Sadiq Khan: Since 27 December the following meetings have been held:
	On 6 January I and Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met a range of representatives and individuals from a number of organisations including but not limited to the Quilliam Foundation, Muslim Council of Britain, British Muslim Forum, the Sufi Muslim Council, the Al Khoei Foundation, the UK Ismaili Council and the Ithna Asheri Khoja Shia World Federation.
	On 8 January I and Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met members of the National Muslim Women's Advisory Group (NMWAG).
	On 10 January I met the Young Muslims Advisory Group (YMAG) at their YMAG residential meeting.
	On 12 January the Communities Secretary, the Foreign Secretary and I met representatives and individuals from a number of organisations including but not limited to the Quilliam Foundation, Muslim Council of Britain, British Muslim Forum, City Circle, the YMAG, British Muslims for a Secular Democracy, the Sufi Muslim Council, the Al Khoei Foundation, the UK Ismaili Council and the Ithna Asheri Khoja Shia World Federation.
	On 13 January I and Bill Rammell, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, met members of the YMAG.
	On 15 January the Communities Secretary and the Home Secretary met representatives and individuals from a number of organisations, including the Sufi Muslim Council, Al Khoei Foundation, the NMWAG, the Ithna Asheri Khoja Shia World Federation, Association of Muslim Social Scientists, the Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre, Active Change Foundation, and Quilliam Foundation.
	On 15 January I met members of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board.
	On 15 January I also met front line providers and deliverers to hear their concerns.

Council Housing: East of England

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people were on local authority housing waiting lists in the East of England in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area.

Iain Wright: Information on local authority housing waiting lists is collected in respect of households rather than individuals. The number of households on the local authority housing waiting lists in the East of England in each of the last 10 years, broken down by local authority area is given in the following table.
	
		
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 EAST 91,950 98,070 94,850 99,490 110,970 134,310 129,180 135,440 146,250 147,850 
			
			 Luton UA 5,620 4,330 4,810 6,000 7,050 8,770 3,360 3,820 5,170 6,810 
			 Peterborough UA 3,130 3,350 3,070 2,650 2,110 4,850 6,040 6,290 6,640 8,550 
			 Southend-on-Sea UA 1,070 1,260 1,600 1,810 2,270 2,980 3,760 3,500 3,460 3,460 
			 Thurrock UA 1,800 2,930 3,930 4,640 5,390 9,470 3,070 2,950 2,820 2,500 
			
			 Bedfordshire 6,750 6,970 9,190 7,290 7,280 8,180 7,890 7,270 7,570 7,010 
			 Bedford 2,450 2,700 3,680 2,070 2,890 2,710 2,650 2,360 2,600 2,210 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 1,650 1,670 2,200 2,670 2,240 2,880 2,910 2,600 2,940 2,870 
			 South Bedfordshire 2,650 2,610 3,310 2,560 2,150 2,590 2,330 2,300 2,040 1,930 
			
			 Cambridgeshire 11,280 12,290 11,930 9,900 11,120 12,230 14,380 14,800 15,460 15,190 
			 Cambridge 4,320 4,580 4,470 2,860 3,220 3,720 4,250 4,740 5,210 5,980 
			 East Cambridgeshire 1,040 1,260 1,250 1,400 1,540 1,740 1,480 1,440 1,480 1,600 
			 Fenland 1,840 1,080 1,290 1,190 1,250 1,440 2,230 2,030 1,970 1,800 
			 Huntingdonshire 1,790 2,500 3,420 2,720 2,910 2,770 2,890 2,430 2,140 2,180 
			 South Cambridgeshire 2,290 2,870 1,500 1,730 2,210 2,550 3,540 4,160 4,660 3,630 
			
			 Essex 21,680 22,090 16,610 19,820 23,740 31,810 26,930 29,540 32,260 30,770 
			 Basildon 2,880 2,870 1,750 2,380 3,030 3,180 2,800 2,530 4,080 2,050 
			 Braintree 2,500 2,850 2,430 2,390 2,460 2,310 2,280 2,590 2,010 2,280 
			 Brentwood 510 520 460 370 460 780 1,090 1,440 1,070 1,580 
			 Castle Point 660 700 480 600 940 1,260 780 1,060 1,440 1,470 
			 Chelmsford 3,730 3,580 1,640 3,870 5,090 5,440 5,750 5,350 5,270 2,450 
			 Colchester 3,240 2,150 2,090 1,910 1,590 2,010 2,030 2,500 2,790 3,750 
			 Epping Forest 1,910 2,070 1,770 1,480 2,170 3,280 2,960 4,090 3,630 3,970 
			 Harlow 1,930 2,180 1,910 2,170 3,060 3,680 3,300 4,090 6,230 7,010 
			 Maldon 510 720 350 490 740 5,140 980 910 790 920 
			 Rochford 870 1,050 660 910 580 680 630 900 350 440 
			 Tendring 1,960 2,500 2,760 2,370 2,850 2,930 3,400 3,160 3,390 3,560 
			 Uttlesford 960 910 320 890 770 1,140 930 920 1,210 1,290 
			
			 Hertfordshire 18,600 18,180 16,790 16,590 19,680 20,650 20,530 21,700 25,920 26,890 
			 Broxbourne 1,670 1,420 1,380 1,400 2,330 2,490 2,630 2,090 2,010 1,360 
			 Dacorum 3,480 3,520 3,040 3,400 3,470 3,230 3,060 2,400 4,410 4,790 
			 East Hertfordshire 1,500 1,530 1,440 1,580 1,770 2,380 2,100 2,510 2,750 2,400 
			 Hertsmere 660 580 400 420 650 890 960 900 1,360 1,500 
			 North Hertfordshire 1,960 1,810 1,180 880 1,110 950 850 1,220 1,920 1,850 
			 St. Albans 1,600 1,730 1,860 1,940 1,760 1,680 1,520 1,650 1,740 1,520 
			 Stevenage 3,250 2,680 2,060 2,280 2,660 2,820 3,080 3,910 4,100 4,940 
			 Three Rivers 820 1,020 850 1,000 1,670 1,570 1,720 1,760 1,830 1,830 
			 Watford 1,470 1,450 1,860 1,160 1,370 1,850 2,000 1,980 2,260 3,070 
			 Welwyn Hatfield 2,200 2,450 2,740 2,540 2,890 2,790 2,610 3,300 3,540 3,640 
			
			 Norfolk 11,140 14,110 14,610 18,230 19,490 21,000 26,360 27,920 29,800 30,360 
			 Breckland 1,480 1,590 1,550 2,010 2,400 2,450 3,450 3,450 2,750 3,160 
			 Broadland 1,070 1,980 880 2,040 2,190 2,550 2,610 3,190 3,880 2,800 
			 Great Yarmouth 1,920 2,380 2,960 3,250 2,460 2,900 5,040 5,470 5,920 5,330 
			 King's Lynn and West Norfolk 1,390 1,850 2,050 2,470 3,200 2,970 4,540 4,650 5,610 5,430 
			 North Norfolk 860 1,000 1,480 1,620 1,940 2,480 2,450 2,600 3,280 3,700 
			 Norwich 2,910 3,100 3,610 4,950 5,150 5,270 5,580 5,600 5,260 7,000 
			 South Norfolk 1,520 2,220 2,090 1,890 2,150 2,380 2,590 2,970 3,120 2,950 
			
			 Suffolk 10,880 12,550 12,310 12,550 12,830 14,370 16,870 17,680 17,150 16,300 
			 Babergh 1,070 1,070 1,050 1,010 1,380 1,530 1,470 1,920 1,700 1,780 
			 Forest Heath 1,060 1,050 970 980 1,060 1,110 1,220 1,510 1,510 1,230 
			 Ipswich 2,760 3,010 3,100 3,430 2,650 3,540 3,550 3,850 4,860 3,520 
			 Mid Suffolk 1,550 1,600 1,590 1,610 1,490 1,760 1,840 1,850 1,590 2,040 
			 St. Edmundsbury 1,800 2,610 2,120 2,230 2,810 3,100 4,120 4,670 4,430 5,090 
			 Suffolk Coastal 960 1,390 1,520 1,290 1,200 1,400 1,570 1,260 930 840 
			 Waveney 1,680 1,810 1,950 2,010 2,230 1,920 3,110 2,620 2,130 1,800 
			  Note: As reported by local authorities. As at 1 April  Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA) 
		
	
	Further information on the number of households on the local authority housing waiting lists for England, can be found in the statistical release "Local Authority Housing Statistics England: 2007-08: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) and Business Plan Statistical Appendix (BPSA)" This was published on 22 January 2009 on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/piiblications/corporate/statistics/lahousing200708
	Additionally information on the number of households on local authority housing waiting lists broken down by Government office region and for every local authority, including the percentage of households this represents, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600 at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table600.xls
	Copies of the statistical release and live table have been deposited in the Library.
	Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual housing strategy statistical appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time. The size of the waiting list is not an indicator of absolute need, it is only useful as a broad indicator of housing demand in an area.

Council Housing: South West

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households were on the  (a) Bath and North East Somerset Council,  (b) North Somerset Council,  (c) Bristol City Council and  (d) South Gloucestershire Council housing register at 1 April in each of the last 10 years.

Iain Wright: The number of households on the local authority housing waiting lists in  (a) Bath and North East Somerset Council,  (b) North Somerset Council,  (c) Bristol City Council and  (d) South Gloucestershire Council at 1 April for the past 10 years is given in the following table:
	
		
			   Number of households on the waiting list (excludes households looking for transfers) 
			   1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Bath and North East Somerset UA 2,430 3,320 3,520 2,380 2,640 3,290 3,180 5,460 5,940 5,440 
			 North Somerset UA 3,700 2,620 4,000 2,880 2,960 3,730 3,950 4,470 4,900 5,800 
			 City of Bristol, UA 11,300 12,280 11,850 11,380 12,940 11,630 11,810 12,930 14,450 10,110 
			 South Gloucestershire 3,540 4,520 5,530 3,510 5,210 4,960 4,050 4,610 3,840 4,870 
			  Note: As reported by local authorities. As at 1 April.  Source: Communities and Local Government Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix return (HSSA) 
		
	
	Further information on the number of households on the local authority housing waiting lists for England, can be found in the statistical release "Local Authority Housing Statistics England: 2007-08: Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix (HSSA) and Business Plan Statistical Appendix (BPSA)" This was published on 22 January 2009 on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/lahousing200708
	Additionally information on the number of households on local authority housing waiting lists broken down by Government Office Region and for every local authority, including the percentage of households this represents, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600 at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/table600.xls
	Copies of the statistical release and live table have been deposited in the Library.
	Local authorities in England report the numbers of households on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get onto the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time. The size of the waiting list is not an indicator of absolute need, it is only useful as a broad indicator of housing demand in an area.

Fire Services: Bed and Breakfast Accommodation

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) enforcement notices and  (b) prohibition notices have been issued by fire and rescue services to bed and breakfast premises under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 since 1 October 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: Available information is for the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008, in which the fire and rescue services reported issuing 947 enforcement notices and 71 prohibition notices to hotels. These may include bed and breakfast premises.
	Separate information on enforcement activity on bed and breakfast premises is not centrally held.

Fire Services: Working Hours

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Beckenham of 9 October 2007,  Official Report, column 563W, on fire services: Working Time Directive, what assessment she has made of the effect of proposed changes to the Working Time Directive on the ability of retained duty system firefighters to work more than 48 hours a week in primary and secondary employment; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 19 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1076W.

Housing

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, column 955W, on housing, when she plans to publish the Housing Reform Green Paper.

Margaret Beckett: As per my answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, column 955W, I am currently considering the content and timing of the Green Paper.

Local Government Services

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the contribution of the Minister for Local Government of 15 October 2008,  Official Report, column 841W, on local government, what the timetable is for the production of the forthcoming Green Paper on local government provision of social care.

Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government will publish a Green Paper on care and support reform in spring 2009.
	The reaction from stakeholders and the public to various key questions was tested during an engagement process from May until November 2008. The comments received then will help inform the Green Paper and a report of the findings will be published with it.

Casinos: Licensing

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether he plans to put into effect the conclusions of the availability to play consultation in respect of the casino licence tendering process for casino operators and local authorities.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 26 January 2009
	The consultation on 'availability to play' regulations, formerly known as the casino premises licence regulations under section 172(6) of the Gambling Act 2005, has not yet taken place.
	I am considering proposals for the consultation document and the public consultation process will follow in due course.

Cultural Heritage: World War II

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his policy is on the preservation of pill-boxes and other defences from the Second World War; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: Pillboxes and other Second World War defences form an important aspect of England's military history. English Heritage has undertaken a series of research projects to improve our understanding of them in the context of the many other sites that represent our defence heritage. Options for preservation include statutory designation, although it would not be appropriate to designate all of the many thousands of surviving pillboxes; careful selection is necessary. Alternatively, many of these structures have local significance and their recording on historic environment records is another way of improving understanding and protection.

Departmental Expenditure

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008, what the status is of the funding announced by his Department's press release of 1 April 2005 and referred to in his Department's Five Year Plan as a £6 million Quality and Innovation Fund.

Barbara Follett: Money for the proposed Quality and Innovation Fund was re-allocated to other pressing priorities. However, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has continued to support a range of work originally identified with the fund, including new audiences, young talent and a cultural offer for children and young people through initiatives such as Free Theatre, Creative Partnerships and Find Your Talent.

Departmental Training

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 16 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 657-8W, on departmental training, which organisations provided the training for the courses on  (a) team away days and  (b) stress management.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a)  Team away days
	Information relating to all organisations, who have provided training for all team away days in DCMS, referred to in the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 16 June 2008 is not fully available and a complete answer cannot be given at this time.
	 (b)  Stress Management
	Stress management training courses, referred to in the answer to the hon. Member for Fareham of 16 June 2008, have been provided by the following organisations for DCMS staff in the last 12 months:
	National School of Government (NSG)
	Hemsley Fraser Group Ltd.
	Reed Business Information Ltd.

Sports: Private Sector

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many private sector companies have joined the Medal Hopes scheme; what financial contribution each such company is making in each region to the scheme; what estimate he has made of the revenue the scheme will raise in the next three years; what targets his Department has set for scheme revenue; and what contingency arrangements his Department has made for circumstances where such targets are not met.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced in December 2008 an additional £50 million of public funds would be available to UK Sport's elite programme. This consists of additional Exchequer funding of £29 million to UK Sport over the four years to 2012; plus a projected uplift in lottery income of £21 million. This means that for the London cycle the elite sport system will receive the highest level of public funding ever made available over a four-year Olympic/Paralympic cycle—an increase over the Beijing cycle and an unprecedented package of support for elite athletes.
	We are still determined that there should be a long-term investment stream in elite sport from the private sector and UK Sport is currently working with Fast Track and others towards this end, including on the proposals currently being drawn up under the Medal Hopes brand.
	Negotiations are ongoing with various potential private sector partners and to release further information regarding those negotiations at this time would prejudice commercial interests.

VisitBritain: Property

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what non-heritage  (a) buildings and  (b) land is owned by Visit Britain; and what estimate has been made of the value of these assets.

Barbara Follett: Visit Britain have advised that they do not own any buildings or land and as such no valuation has been conducted.

VisitBritain: Property

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what non-heritage  (a) buildings and  (b) land are leased by Visit Britain; and what estimate has been made of the value of these assets.

Barbara Follett: VisitBritain have advised that they currently lease space to two third parties in their New York office. The annual rent received is £16,407 per annum (net of VAT).
	VisitBritain also lease space to a number of partners at the Britain and London Visitor Centre in Regent Street. The total income from tenants is £356,000 per annum (net of VAT).

Economic Growth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what forecast he has made of growth in the economy in each of the next 12 months.

Ian Pearson: The Government set out their latest assessment of UK economic developments and prospects in the 2008 pre-Budget report (Cm 7484). It will produce updated forecasts in the Budget as normal.

Intellectual Property Review

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's staff provided support for the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property.

Angela Eagle: Andrew Gower's Review of Intellectual property was an independent review funded by the Treasury. The number of full-time staff provided to support the review was seven, during the course of 12 months.

Manufacturing Industries: Government Assistance

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to increase lending to manufacturing industry through those banks he has capitalised.

Ian Pearson: On 8 October this year the Government announced a comprehensive package of measures to support stability of the financial system, protect ordinary savers, depositors, businesses and borrowers, and to safeguard the interests of the taxpayer.
	As part of its investment, the Government have agreed with the banks supported by the recapitalisation scheme a range of commitments. Details are available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_105_08.htm.
	These include commitments to maintain, over the next three years, the availability and active marketing of competitively-priced lending to home owners and small businesses at 2007 levels.

Members: Correspondence

Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Northavon of 5 December 2008 on late payment of tax, reference 1/64635/2008.

Angela Eagle: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Non-domestic Rates: Sports

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what proportion of community amateur sports clubs in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales received relief from national non-domestic rate liability at 100 per cent. in 2007-08.

Stephen Timms: The information requested is not readily available.
	By the end of 2008, over 5000 community amateur sports clubs were registered with HMRC, and entitled to receive 80 per cent. rates relief. It is not known, however, how many have taken up this relief, nor how many of these have received the additional 2 per cent. relief which local authorities have discretion to provide. There is no readily available breakdown of the clubs between the nations of the UK.
	HMRC do have data on the number of payments that exceeded the £30,000 threshold and were reported through self-assessment for 2006-07—the most recent year available. This is set out in Table 1.
	The limited information we have on payments below £30,000 suggests that a large majority of payments are covered by the tax-free threshold.
	
		
			  Table 1:  N umber of termination payments over £30,000 that were reported via self assessment in 2006-07 
			   Number of payments 
			 Total SA 8,000 
			 England 7,000 
			 South East 2,000 
			  Note: Figures rounded to the nearest thousand

Welfare Tax Credits: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many individuals in Peterborough constituency have been overpaid tax credits  (a) once,  (b) twice and  (c) three or more times since 1 April 2005; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many individuals in Peterborough constituency have been underpaid tax credits  (a) once,  (b) twice and  (c) three or more times since 1 April 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Child and working tax credits were not introduced until April 2003. The information requested is not available. However the following table provides a snapshot of information on the number of families in the Peterborough constituency with one, two and three or more underpayments or overpayments of tax credits between 2003-04 and 2006-07. This is based on families who had a 2006-07 tax credit award and lived in Peterborough as at 31 August 2006.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			  Regularity with which overpayment or underpayment of tax credits occurred  Number of awards underpaid  Number of awards overpaid 
			  (a) Once 4.4 3.9 
			  (b) Twice 1.0 1.9 
			  (c) Three or more times 0.2 0.7

Departmental Databases

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 169W, on departmental databases, which policy areas the ACORN data has been used to inform.

Shahid Malik: ACORN data has been used by Ministry of Justice staff in analysis related to the means testing of criminal legal aid in the magistrates courts, and to the potential recovery of some criminal defence costs from defendants in the Crown court.

Departmental Telephone Services

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what use  (a) his Department and  (b) service providers under contract to his Department make of (i) 0844 and 0845 telephone numbers and (ii) revenue-sharing telephone numbers for calls from members of the public; for which services such numbers are used; what prefixes are used for revenue-sharing numbers; how much revenue has accrued from revenue-sharing numbers in each of the last five years; what consideration his Department has given to introducing 03-prefixed telephone numbers for calls to all such services; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Wills: From the central records available, the following information is provided.
	The Land Registry use fourteen 0844 telephone numbers for public access to their services. The Land Registry no longer operate revenue sharing numbers and since February 2008 customers are charged only the local call rate from land lines for using the 0844 numbers. However, calls from mobile phones may cost more as the Department cannot control charges levied by individual service providers to their customers.
	Details of the revenue generated to Land Registry in earlier years is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2004-05 0 
			 2005-06 247,467 
			 2006-07 221,543 
			 2007-08 164,787 
			 April to June 2008 (1)40,026 
			 (1) This is a rebate figure from previous service providers which has been paid into this year's financial accounts. 
		
	
	In addition, the Department, and its service providers, but excluding Land Registry, operate forty nine 0845 numbers to provide a range of services to the public, including customer service enquiries and IT online support. Eighteen of these numbers, which are used by Her Majesty's Courts Service Bulk Payment Centre, have generated some revenue. At the time the numbers were introduced, calls from anywhere in the UK were charged at a local rate, making it no more expensive for people to access the service using the 0845 rather than the exchange number. The Centre now publish alternative numbers on their web pages giving customers a choice, as depending on the enquirer's call plan, 0845 may not now be the cheapest option. Details of income generated from these 0845 numbers is available for the last four years, and is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2004-05 745.91 
			 2005-06 6543.76 
			 2006-07 7684.14 
			 2007-08 8075.97 
		
	
	Revenue sharing 0870 numbers have also been used for recruitment campaigns. However, it has been decided that these numbers will no longer be included in campaign advertising, and they are expected to be discontinued shortly when' a new system is introduced. The income generated from these numbers, since their introduction in February 2004, is £25,503.69. There is no annual breakdown available.
	03 prefix telephone numbers are charged in the same fashion as 01 and 02 prefix numbers, but the call receiver does not receive revenue sharing. The Department, and its service providers, are considering switching to 03 prefix numbers.

Driving Offences

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many  (a) males and  (b) females aged (i) 17 to 24, (ii) 25 to 30, (iii) 31 to 35, (iv) 36 to 40 and (v) over 40 years old were (A) prosecuted and (B) convicted for stopping in a box junction in (1) the Essex Police area, (2) the Metropolitan Police area and (3) England and Wales in each of the last three years;
	(2)  how much revenue has been raised from penalties issued for stopping in a box junction in  (a) the Essex Police area,  (b) the Metropolitan Police area and  (c) England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Maria Eagle: The offence of 'contravening a box junction', under the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 2002, can be dealt with by way of court proceedings or the issuing of a fixed penalty notice.
	Centrally collected data held on the Ministry of Justice court proceedings database, and by the Home Office on fixed penalty notices (FPNs), does not separately identify the number of prosecutions, convictions, or FPNs issued for the offence of 'contravening a box junction' from other offences of neglect of traffic directions.

Economic and Monetary Union

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 14 July 2008,  Official Report, column 60W, on economic and monetary union, what the timetable for his Department's updating of its euro changeover plan is.

Shahid Malik: The former DCA had a detailed Euro Changeover Plan in place by the end of 2004 and this was last revised in 2006.
	Plans for the former Home Office activities (prisons and probation services; Office for Criminal Justice Reform), which transferred to the newly created Ministry of Justice in 2007, were included in the Home Office Plan.
	There are no plans to place a copy of the MOJ plans in the Library.

Magistrates: Standards

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he has taken to monitor the level of compliance of  (a) magistrates,  (b) HM courts service fines officers and  (c) bailiff companies with the national standards for enforcement agents on vulnerable situations.

Bridget Prentice: The National Standards for Enforcement Agents are intended for use by enforcement agents rather than magistrates or Her Majesty's Courts Service fines officers. However both magistrates and Her Majesty's Courts Service. fines officers routinely consider the circumstances of defendants and defaulters as part of their decision-making process. Where issues of vulnerability are made known to them, these will be taken into account.
	Her Majesty's Court Service contracts place a specific obligation on its private enforcement agents in respect of vulnerable members of society. This requires them to adhere to and implement these standards while engaged on enforcement activities on behalf of Her Majesty's Courts Service. They are instructed not to take any action to levy distress without prior reference to the court where the individual falls into one of categories deemed as vulnerable. Complaints by members of the public about the conduct of the contractor must be reported to Her Majesty's Courts Service regional contract managers, together with details of how those complaints have been dealt with and resolved. These are reviewed as part of the contract management process.
	The contract requires AEAs to provide a monthly management report to HMCS regional contractor managers on contractor performance. The report provides details on the execution rate of warrants, training undertaken by contractor staff and any complaints received by the contractor on action taken by their staff. Contractors must report any circumstances and situations where a complaint or issue is raised by defaulters who consider the enforcement of the warrant has been undertaken inappropriately or incorrectly. These will include any situations involving those in the vulnerable person categories., Any complaints or correspondence received by contractors must be investigated. In addition Her Majesty's Court Service regional management will investigate the complaint to determine that the bailiff took the correct action or if the situation requires further investigation.
	Further reporting protocols in new proposed contracts will strengthen the control and monitoring arrangements available to HMCS on contractor performance. This includes quarterly and six-month assurance reporting. There is also a requirement for each contractor to make an annual operation report reviewing their management of the contract. Combined, these reports form the basis for the HMCS Director of Enforcement to make an annual report covering the operation of all regional contracts.
	The reports received as the six month and yearly stages of the contract would be reviewed and reported on to the HMCS Compliance and Enforcement and main HMCS Management Boards as part of this report. It is expected that the contractor will detail its procedures and processes and the agreed authorisation methods with each HMCS region and area within these reporting requirements.

Members: Correspondence

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he will reply to the hon. Member for Edinburgh West's correspondence of 16 October and 4 December 2008 with regard to his constituent, Mr Terry Cooper.

Bridget Prentice: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
	 I apologise for the delay in responding.

Offenders: Learning Disability

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the merits of  (a) community-based offender management programmes and  (b) substance misuse programmes developed for use with offenders with (i) learning difficulties and (ii) learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Offending behaviour and substance misuse programmes can meet a broad range of offender needs and are successful in reducing reoffending. Reasonable adjustments are made to ensure programmes are accessible to all those who could potentially benefit. Participation will depend on the assessment and degree of capability. Further work may be possible to prepare an individual, however there will be some offenders who are unable to participate due to the intensive nature and cognitive focus of the programmes. If a programme is not suitable then one to one work may be considered. If an individual is still unsuitable then other interventions or activities will be considered to meet their needs, including a range of less intensive drug treatment options.

Political Impartiality

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 14 January 2008,  Official Report, columns 948-9W, on Political Parties Elections and Referendums Act 2008, what the nature of the offence was that resulted in the individual being referred to a youth offender panel for a breach of the Act.

Jack Straw: The data to which the hon. Member refers show that between 2000 and 2006 two people were referred to youth offender panels for offences under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.
	The information held centrally by the Department does not identify which specific offences under PPERA were involved.

Residence Orders: Applications

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for residence orders have been applied for by extended family members since 1 April 2008.

Bridget Prentice: Figures on the number of applications, counted by child, by the applicant relationship to the child for private law residence orders since 1 April 2008 in county and high courts in England and Wales are given in the following table. Public law applications (few in number) are not included. Figures for family proceedings courts are also not provided as comprehensive information on applicant relationships is not available. Please note that the figures are provisional.
	In 1,080 of 25,064 applications there was more than one applicant relationship specified for the application. This could happen for a number of reasons. It could be that the applicant has a different relationship with each of the children in the case, that the application is made by more than one person or there may be counter applications made by two or more people. Where this happens the application will be counted more than once within the total of 26,261 applicant relationships.
	
		
			  Applications made, counted by child, 1 April 2008 to 30 November 2008 
			   Applications 
			 Father 11,231 
			 Mother 10,828 
			 Grandparent 2,744 
			 Stepfather 116 
			 Stepmother 118 
			 Special Guardian 13 
			 Other 1,211 
			 Total applicant-to-child relationship 26,261 
			   
			 Total applications 25,064 
			  Notes: 1. The data are taken from the HMCS FamilyMan system. 2. In 792 cases of 25,064 applications there were applications made in two different months. This may be because the case was transferred or because a second applicant made a counter application in a later month. Where this occurs the application will be counted twice within the 25,064 total. 3. The figures include transfers from other courts.

Violence Against Women

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality whether she plans to meet the Secretary of State for the Home Department to discuss a cross-Government strategy to tackle violence against women.

Maria Eagle: The Home Secretary confirmed to the Home Affairs Select Committee that the Government have accepted its recommendation to adopt a cross-government violence against women strategy on 13 November 2008.
	A consultation on violence against women and women's safety will be launched later this year. Feedback from the public and stakeholders will be used to inform the strategy. This Government are proud of their achievements in dealing with violence against women, but we're not complacent—which is why we want to ask people about what more we should be doing to tackle violence against women.

Colombia: Detainees

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Colombian government on the extradition of Niall Connolly, James Monaghan and Martin McCauley.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 26 January 2009
	 None.

Colombia: Political Prisoners

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Colombian government on political prisoners being held for long periods in Colombian jails without having been convicted of any crime.

Gillian Merron: With the Colombian authorities in London and through our embassy in Bogota we have raised specific cases of concern of people who have been detained for long periods without trial on the charge of rebellion.
	We are aware of serious allegations that people in Colombia are being imprisoned or charged with offences because of their political views or activities, and held for long periods.
	It is for the Colombian judicial system to assess any such cases, including exercise of the right of habeas corpus. We are working to facilitate improvements in the Colombian criminal justice system by supporting a project with prominent civil society organisations and the UN development programme.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East, of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 220W, on departmental public relations, which firm provided the secondment; and to which division in his Department the secondee was assigned.

Gillian Merron: The member of staff referred to is seconded from Ofcom to the Communications Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Departmental Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East, of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1406W, on departmental public relations, to which external public relations and public affairs firms departmental staff are currently on secondment; and what the  (a) purpose and  (b) duration is of each secondment.

Gillian Merron: Of the seven Foreign and Commonwealth Office members of staff referred to in the previous answer, six remain on secondment to the organisations and positions listed below for the periods indicated.
	Programme Director, Wilton Park: August 2007 - February 2009
	Growth Manager, Think London Ltd: August 2007 - February 2009
	Business Director, Africa Matters Ltd: June 2005 - June 2009
	Director Construction and Asia Pacific, British Expertise: June 2005 - March 2009
	Senior Partner, International, at Ofcom: June 2008 - February 2009
	Director Trade and Government Relations, The Middle East Association: October 2006 - October 2009

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government had with the Governments of  (a) Syria,  (b) Lebanon,  (c) Turkey,  (d) Egypt,  (e) Jordan and  (f) Saudi Arabia on the situation in the Middle East between 28 December 2008 and 5 January 2009.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary spoke at least once to his counterparts in all those countries between 28 December 2008 and 5 January 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government had with Quartet Middle East Envoy Tony Blair on the situation in the Middle East between 28 December 2008 and 5 January 2009; and on what date the first such discussion took place.

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has been in regular contact with the Quartet Envoy throughout this crisis.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what common policy positions were taken by EU members in relation to Israel's military action against Gaza between 28 December 2008 and 5 January 2009.

Bill Rammell: European Union Foreign Ministers met on 30 December 2008 and agreed a statement setting out the EU's stance on the conflict. The EU presidency also issued a number of statements on behalf of the Union.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what formal representations he has made to the Government of Israel on the proportionality of its use of force in Gaza between 28 December 2008 and 5 January 2009.

Bill Rammell: As I told the House on 15 January 2009,  Official Report, column 396: "the Israeli action has been disproportionate". We have consistently urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties and from the outset have called in public and private for an immediate and sustainable ceasefire.

Sri Lanka

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Sri Lankan government following the killing of the chief editor of the Sunday Leader on 8 January 2009.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 22 January 2009
	 We welcome the stated commitment of the Sri Lankan Government to investigate the killing of  The Sunday Leader's chief editor on 8 January 2009. The UK has been clear that it is vital for the perpetrators of such reprehensible acts to be brought to justice following a thorough and independent investigation. Our high commission officials in Colombo have emphasised this to President Rajapakse.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Sri Lanka to call a ceasefire in its operations against Tamil forces in the north and east of the country.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 20 January 2009
	My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made clear that we must see an end to the conflict and a new drive for a lasting political solution. He wrote to President Rajapakse in January to express our concerns. We continue to engage with all political parties across all communities in Sri Lanka to support progress in this direction. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary set out the UK's position on Sri Lanka in a written ministerial statement on 21 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 30-31WS.

Western Sahara

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 381W, on the Western Sahara, if he will make representations on Morocco's continued occupation of Western Sahara to the Moroccan Ambassador to the UK.

Bill Rammell: The Government continue to engage in regular discussions with all the parties to the western Sahara dispute, including Morocco.
	We continue to urge the parties to make progress towards a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution providing for the self-determination of the people of western Sahara, negotiated under the auspices of the UN. We therefore welcome the recent appointment of Christopher Ross as the UN Secretary-General's new personal envoy to western Sahara and hope his appointment will lead to renewed engagement by all the parties.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk of 14 January 2009,  Official Report, column 866W, what recent discussions have been held  (a) at the United Nations and  (b) in the EU on direct intervention in Zimbabwe to secure the removal of Robert Mugabe and his regime.

Gillian Merron: We have not had discussions with any international organisations on direct intervention in Zimbabwe to remove Robert Mugabe from power. Those working for change and reform in Zimbabwe are not calling for military intervention. Their, and our, focus is foremost on the humanitarian situation and doing what can be done to alleviate suffering. We do, however, regularly discuss with the UN and EU non-military options for encouraging a resolution to the crisis. On 26 January 2009, my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, met EU Foreign Ministers to discuss the extension of EU targeted sanctions.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many alcohol-related emergency admissions to hospitals of  (a) men and  (b) women there have been in the London Borough of Hillingdon in each year since 1997, broken down by age of patient.

Dawn Primarolo: These data are collected and published by the NHS Information Centre for health and social care. The following table shows the number of alcohol-related finished emergency admissions for residents of the London borough of Hillingdon for the years 2002-03 to 2006-07 has been placed in the Library. Data for earlier years are not available. 2006-07 is the latest year for which data are available.
	
		
			  Number of alcohol-related finished emergency admissions for residents of Hillingdon 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07 
			   Male  Female  Total  Male  Female  Total  Male  Female  Total  Males  Female  Total  Male  Female  Total 
			 Under 16 * * 8 9 13 22 8 10 18 9 13 22 8 10 18 
			 16-24 * * 79 103 83 186 99 77 176 103 83 186 99 77 176 
			 25-34 81 56 137 113 96 208 112 99 211 113 96 208 112 99 211 
			 35-44 143 50 193 187 148 336 228 122 350 187 148 336 228 122 350 
			 45-54 157 65 222 266 94 361 317 111 429 266 94 361 317 111 429 
			 55-64 166 57 223 251 97 348 284 104 388 251 97 348 284 104 388 
			 65-74 157 76 233 239 113 352 278 124 402 239 113 352 278 124 402 
			 75 or over 160 169 330 305 240 545 336 267 603 305 240 545 336 267 603 
			 Total 911 514 1,425 1,472 885 2.357 1,663 915 2,578 1,472 885 2.357 1,663 915 2,578 
			  Notes: 1. Includes activity in English national health service (NHS) hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector. 2. Small numbers: To protect patient confidentiality, figures between one and five have been suppressed and replaced with "*" (an asterisk). Where it was possible to identify numbers from the total due to a single suppressed number in a row or column, an additional number (the next smallest) has been suppressed. 3. Alcohol-related admissions: The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO). Following international best practice, the NWPHO methodology includes a wide range of diseases and injuries in which alcohol plays a part and estimates the proportion of cases that are attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Details of the conditions and associated proportions can be found in the report Jones et al. (2008) 'Alcohol-attributable fractions for England: Alcohol-attributable mortality and hospital admissions'. 4. Figures for under 16s only include admissions where one or more alcohol-specific conditions were listed. This is because the research on which the attributable fractions are based does not cover under 16s. Alcohol-specific conditions are those that are wholly attributed to alcohol - that is, those with an attributable fraction of one. They are: Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6) Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2) Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1) Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1) Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4) Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2) Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10) Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45) Ethanol poisoning (T51.0) Methanol poisoning (T51.1) Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9) 5. Number of episodes in which the patient had an alcohol-related primary or secondary diagnosis: These figures represent the number of episodes where an alcohol-related diagnosis was recorded in any of the 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) primary and secondary diagnosis fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. Each episode is only counted once in each count, even if an alcohol-related diagnosis is recorded in more than one diagnosis field of the record. 6. Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 7. Emergency admissions: Includes all types of emergency admission (Method of admission codes 21-28). 8. Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. 9. Secondary diagnoses: As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 13 (six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care. 10. Data Quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Source: HES, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Angelman Syndrome: Research

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into Angleman's Syndrome; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Neither the Department's National Institute for Health Research nor the Medical Research Council (MRC) is currently supporting research on Angelman syndrome.
	The MRC has a large portfolio of genetic research, some of which may have relevance to the condition. For example, the MRC funds research on the genetic factors related to learning disorders that has identified a number of candidate genes contributing to learning disability.

Angina

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to provide care to those with refractory angina.

Ann Keen: The National Service Framework for Coronary Heart Disease (March 2000) sets a 10-year framework for action to prevent disease, tackle inequalities, save more lives, and improve the quality of life for people with heart disease. Chapter 4 of the CHD NSF covers stable angina. This chapter sets out how primary care teams and specialists can best help people with angina or suspected angina to relieve their symptoms and reduce their risk of suffering a major cardiovascular event.
	When the CHD NSF was written, there was little high-quality evidence to guide practice for refractory angina and it was mentioned only briefly. However, since 1996, a national centre for the management of patients with refractory angina has been developing at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital Trust. This is known as the National Refractory Angina Centre (NRAC). In November 2007, the Cheshire and Merseyside Cardiac Network published the second edition of its Guideline on the Management and Treatment of Stable Angina. Although not a stable condition, the document contains a detailed section on refractory angina. This guideline is recognised nationally.
	I am due to visit the NRAC in February 2009 and have asked for a national meeting to continue service development in this area.

Antidepressants

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) England and  (b) Sefton have been prescribed anti-depressant drugs.

Phil Hope: The Department does not know the number of people prescribed a particular drug.
	The following table provides the number of prescription items prescribed in the community in Sefton Primary Care Trust (PCT) and England as a whole, that were dispensed in the community in the United Kingdom, for anti-depressant drugs listed in British National Formulary (BNF) section 4.3 for the latest available 12 month period.
	
		
			  Number of prescription items prescribed in the community in Sefton PCT and England as a whole, that were dispensed in the community in the UK, for anti-depressant drugs listed in BNF section 4.3. 
			  November 2007 to October 2008  Number of items ( Thousand ) 
			 England 35,199.7 
			 Sefton PCT 238.5 
			  Source:  Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool (ePACT) system.

Human-Animal Hybrid Embryos

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what account the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority took of funding provisions when it authorised research licence R0179 for the creation of animal-human hybrids to the Instituted of Human Genetics at the University of Newcastle; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what account the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority took of funding provisions when it authorised research licence R0180 for the creation of animal-human hybrids to King's College London; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) does not take account of the availability of funding when it considers an application for a research licence. The HFEA must consider if the project meets the requirements of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, including that the research is necessary or desirable and the use of embryos is necessary.

Injuries: Children

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 19 January 2008,  Official Report, column 1195W, on injuries: children, what the equivalent figures were in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: The data for finished admission episodes for deliberate and unintended injuries (age 0-15 inclusive) are in the following table.
	
		
			   Cause 
			   Unintended  Deliberate (intentional self-harm)  Deliberate (assault s )  Other 
			 2006-07 121,966 7,622 3,270 606 
			 2005-06 120,292 7,851 3,315 551 
			 2004-05 118,607 7,004 3,121 654 
			 2003-04 119,369 7,469 3,178 671 
			 2002-03 115,234 6,784 2,840 624 
			 2001-02 120,233 6,332 3,025 651 
			  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics

Lighting: Health Hazards

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if his Department will commission research into the possible effects on health of the use of low-energy fluorescent bulbs; and what recent discussions he has had at EU level on the use of such bulbs.

Dawn Primarolo: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) advises the Department on scientific matters concerning optical radiation including low energy light bulbs. The HPA tested a sample of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and found that some emitted ultraviolet (UV) radiation which could, under certain conditions, expose people above international guidelines. As a result of its findings the HPA issued precautionary advice on 9 October 2008 to the general public concerning the use of open CFLs in close-working situations. The HPA's advice can be found at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb&HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1223445516605?p=1153822623869
	The HPA's research was considered alongside other available evidence to inform a report by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). SCENIHR's Opinion on light sensitivity can be found at:
	http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/scenihr_opinions_en.htm
	During 2008, officials in the Department undertook a literature review on lighting and light sensitive and neurological conditions and made the scientific references available to SCENIHR. The Department is continuing to work with patient groups, clinicians and the lighting industry to keep the health issues under review.
	In discussions with the European Commission throughout 2008, with regard to implementation of the domestic lighting part 1 of the eco-design of energy saving products Directive 2005/32/EC, the Government successfully pressed for consideration of health impacts to be fully considered and for limits to be set on UV emissions from CFLs.

Mental Health Services: Finance

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on mental health care in  (a) England and  (b) Sefton in each of the last 10 years (i) in absolute terms and (ii) per head of population; and how much he estimates will be spent on such care in the next (A) five and (B) 10 years.

Phil Hope: These data are not collected centrally in the format requested. However, the following table shows the expenditure per head of population under Mental Health in England and Sefton Primary Care Trust (PCT) for financial years 2003-04 to 2006-07:
	
		
			  Total expenditure and the expenditure per head of population under Mental Health in England and Sefton PCT for financial years 2003-04 to 2006-07 
			   Expenditure( 1)  (£000)  Expenditure per head population (£) 
			   England  Sefton PCT( 2)  England  Sefton PCT( 2) 
			 2003-04 7,386,096 39,107 150 130 
			 2004-05 7,905,131 50,962 161 170 
			 2005-06 8,538,755 40,077 174 133 
			 2006-07 9,125,740 49,632 183 166 
			 (1 )For consistency the expenditure figure include substance abuse. Data cannot be separated for earlier years. In 2006-07, £716,330 was spent on substance abuse, 7.8 per cent. of the total Mental Health expenditure. (2 )Values for financial years 2003-04 to 2005-06 are based on the programme budgeting and population data for South Sefton PCT and Southport and Formby PCT, which merged to form Sefton PCT in 2006-07.  Source:  Department of Health

Mental Health Services: Restraint Techniques

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 21 February 2008,  Official Report, column 961W, on mental health services: restraint techniques, 
	(1)  whether it will be mandatory for all staff engaged in physical restraint interventions to receive accredited training;
	(2)  when he expects accredited training in the therapeutic management of violence to be implemented;
	(3)  when he expects the guidance of the National Institute for Mental Health in England to be published;
	(4)  whether all responses to the National Institute for Mental Health in England consultation on The National Minimum Standards for the Safe and Therapeutic Management of Aggression and Violence in Mental Health In-patient Settings have now been considered.
	(5)  with reference to the answer of 20 February 2008,  Official Report, column 812W, on mental health services: training, whether all staff working in mental health and learning disability services have now received the Promoting Safer and Therapeutic Services syllabus training in line with his Department's March 2008 target.

Phil Hope: We remain committed to the principle of accreditation of training in the management of aggression in psychiatric settings and are discussing the detail and management of a proposal with key stakeholders. We hope to make a further announcement in the spring. The additional guidance will be published when the proposal is agreed.
	Responses to the consultation on the national minimum standards for the safe and therapeutic management of aggression of aggression and violence in mental health inpatient settings have been considered.
	Figures collected by the National Health Service Security Management Service in December 2007 show that 88 per cent. of frontline staff working in NHS mental health and learning disability bodies had received the Promoting Safer and Therapeutic Services syllabus training. NHS bodies reported that by March 2008 98 per cent. of frontline staff would have received this training.

Mental Health Services: Training

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training his Department will make available to independent mental health advocates before the statutory obligation to commission independent mental health advocates comes into force on 1 April 2009; and whether that training will be mandatory.

Phil Hope: To help prepare for the introduction of independent mental health advocates (IMHAs), the Department has commissioned the National Institute for Mental Health in England to run regional one-day training workshops for potential IMHAs, mental health advocates and health and social care professionals. These workshops will run prior to 1 April 2009 and attendance will be voluntary.

Pharmacy

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on follow-up work arising from the OFT's investigation of control of entry regulations in the pharmacy market.

Phil Hope: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) report "The control of entry regulations and retail pharmacy services in the UK", was published in January 2003. Since then, officials have had various meetings with the OFT to discuss matters of mutual interest.
	The OFT gave evidence to a review led by Anne Galbraith, former chair of the Prescription Pricing Authority, in spring 2007. Her report "Review of NHS pharmaceutical contractual arrangements", was published in April 2008 alongside the White Paper "Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths—delivering the future. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_083815
	OFT and departmental officials have also met recently to discuss issues arising from the 2008 pharmacy White Paper consultation "Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths—delivering the future—proposals for legislative reform".

Pharmacy

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he plans to take to link primary care trusts' pharmaceutical needs assessments to strategic planning and commissioning processes;
	(2)  what steps his Department has taken to ensure that each primary care trust area has an up-to-date pharmaceutical needs assessment in place.

Phil Hope: The White Paper "Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths—delivering the future" highlighted that primary care trust pharmaceutical needs assessments should contribute to joint strategic needs assessments, which all primary care trusts (PCTs) and upper tier local authorities have a duty to undertake. The support programme on pharmaceutical needs assessment being devised for primary care trusts, led by NHS Employers, is expected to include guidance on linking joint strategic needs assessment and pharmaceutical needs assessment.
	Following publication of the White Paper, the Department asked NHS Employers to set up a short-term working group to review requirements for pharmaceutical needs assessments and to develop a support programme for primary care trusts. The first element of this programme—"Pharmaceutical Needs Assessments (PNAs) as part of world class commissioning—Guidance for primary care trusts", was published on 7 January 2009. A copy has been placed in the Library and it is also available at:
	www.nhsemployers.org/PNAguidance.
	More resources will follow later this spring. In addition, as part of the world class commissioning programme, the Department plans to publish further information for PCTs on how to commission pharmaceutical services.
	The Department first advised primary care trusts to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments in 2004-05. However, our White Paper stated that while many PCTs have reviewed these assessments or plan to do so, not all PCTs had yet considered the need to either update or review their assessments. The Health Bill 2009 introduced on 15 January 2009 contains proposals to require primary care trusts to assess pharmaceutical needs in their area and to publish a statement of those needs. Subject to parliamentary approval, new regulations, to be derived from powers in the Bill, will set out the requirements for how and when these assessments should be carried out.

Primary Care Trusts: Hampshire

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent on administration by  (a) Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT),  (b) Southampton PCT and  (c) their predecessor trusts (i) in total and (ii) per capita in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is shown in the following tables. Data has been provided for the period 2001-02 to 2007-08, which are the only years available by individual organisation.
	
		
			  Table 1: Administrative costs 2001-02 to 2007-08 
			  £000 
			   Organisation  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04  2002-03  2001-02 
			 5QC Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT)(1) 16,444 15,968 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5G6 Blackwater Valley and Hart PCT(2,3) n/a n/a 2,597 2,150 2,111 2,269 n/a 
			 5DF North Hampshire PCT(2) n/a n/a 2,293 2,164 2,038 1,771 1,053 
			 5E9 Mid-Hampshire PCT(2) n/a n/a 926 863 644 478 302 
			 5FD East Hampshire PCT(2) n/a n/a 2,998 2,633 2,397 2,266 1,038 
			 5LY Eastleigh and Test Valley South PCT(2,4) n/a n/a 2,808 2,444 2,334 1,522 n/a 
			 5A1 New Forest PCT(2) n/a n/a 3,985 3,829 2,968 2,502 2,128 
			 5LX Fareham and Gosport PCT(2,5) n/a n/a 2,283 2,305 1,961 1,843 n/a 
			 RN4 Portsmouth Health Care NHS Trust(7) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 6,201 
			  
			  
			 5L1 Southampton City PCT(6) 9,957 8,536 8,236 6,077 5,118 4,135 3,233 
			 RHS Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust(8) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 712 
			  
			   Health authorities (HAs)
			 QEV Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,441 
			 QD1 North and Mid Hampshire HA n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,511 
			 QD3 Southampton and South West Hampshire HA n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 1,913 
			 (1) Hampshire PCT was formed on 1 October 2006. (2) These PCTs merged on 1 October 2006 to become Hampshire PCT. The costs for the period 1 April 2006 to 30 September 2006 are included within the figures provided for Hampshire PCT for 2006-07. (3) Blackwater Valley and Hart PCT was formed on 1 April 2002. Its predecessor organisation was Rushmore and Hart Primary Care Group (PCG). PCGs were not separate legal entities; Rushmore and Hart PCG was a sub-committee of North and Mid-Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of the HA's expenditure that relates to this PCG. (4) Eastleigh and Test Valley PCT was formed on 1 April 2002. Its predecessor organisations were Eastleigh North PCG and part of West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG. PCGs were not separate legal entitles; both Eastleigh North PCG and West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG were sub-committees of Southampton & South West Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of this HA's expenditure that relates to these PCGs. (5) Fareham and Gosport PCT was formed on 1 April 2002. Its predecessor organisations were Fareham PCG, Gosport PCG and Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust. PCGs were not separate legal entities; both Fareham PCG and Gosport PCG were sub-committees of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of this HA's expenditure that relates to these PCGs. (6) On 1 April 2002, Southampton City PCT absorbed part of West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG and Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust. PCGs were not separate legal entities; West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG was a sub-committees of Southampton and South West Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of the HA's expenditure that relates to this PCG. (7) Part of Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust merged into Fareham and Gosport PCT on 1 April 2002. The figure provided is the cost for the whole Trust, as it is not possible to separate out the costs of the part of the Trust that merged with the PCT. (8) Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust merged Into Southampton City PCT on 1 April 2002.  Source: The financial returns of strategic health authorities, PCTs and NHS trusts. The financial returns data is not audited but is validated to the audited summarisation schedules. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Administrative costs per head of population 2001-02 to 2007-08 
			  £ 
			   Organisation  2007-08  2006-07  2005-06  2004-05  2003-04  2002-03  2001-02 
			 5QC Hampshire PCT(1) 13 13 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 5G6 Blackwater Valley and Hart PCT(2,3) n/a n/a 14 12 12 12 n/a 
			 5DF North Hampshire PCT(2) n/a n/a 12 12 11 10 6 
			 5E9 Mid-Hampshire PCT(2) n/a n/a 5 5 4 3 2 
			 5FD East Hampshire PCT(2) n/a n/a 16 14 13 12 6 
			 5LY Eastleigh and Test Valley South PCT(2,4) n/a n/a 19 16 16 10 n/a 
			 5A1 New Forest PCT(2) n/a n/a 23 22 17 14 12 
			 5LX Fareham and Gosport PCT(2,5) n/a n/a 12 12 10 10 n/a 
			 RN4 Portsmouth Health Care NHS Trust(7,9) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			 5L1 Southampton City PCT(6) 42 36 35 26 22 18 14 
			 RHS Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust(8,9) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			  
			 QEV Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 2 
			 QD1 North and Mid Hampshire HA n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3 
			 QD3 Southampton and South West Hampshire HA n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 3 
			 (1) Hampshire PCT was formed on 1 October 2006. (2) These PCTs merged on 1 October 2006 to become Hampshire PCT. The costs for the period 1 April 2006 to 30 September 2006 are included within the figures provided for Hampshire PCT for 2006-07. (3) Blackwater Valley and Hart PCT was formed on 1 April 2002. Its predecessor organisation was Rushmore and Hart Primary Care Group (PCG). PCGs were not separate legal entities; Rushmore and Hart PCG was a sub-committee of North and Mid-Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of the HA's expenditure that relates to this PCG. (4) Eastleigh and Test Valley PCT was formed on 1 April 2002. Its predecessor organisations were Eastleigh North PCG and part of West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG. PCGs were not separate legal entitles; both Eastleigh North PCG and West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG were sub-committees of Southampton & South West Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of this HA's expenditure that relates to these PCGs. (5) Fareham and Gosport PCT was formed on 1 April 2002. Its predecessor organisations were Fareham PCG, Gosport PCG and Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust. PCGs were not separate legal entities; both Fareham PCG and Gosport PCG were sub-committees of Portsmouth and South East Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of this HA's expenditure that relates to these PCGs. (6) On 1 April 2002, Southampton City PCT absorbed part of West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG and Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust. PCGs were not separate legal entities; West Southampton/Test Valley South PCG was a sub-committees of Southampton and South West Hampshire HA. It is not possible to separate the part of the HA's expenditure that relates to this PCG. (7) Part of Portsmouth Healthcare NHS Trust merged into Fareham and Gosport PCT on 1 April 2002. The figure provided is the cost for the whole Trust, as it is not possible to separate out the costs of the part of the Trust that merged with the PCT. (8) Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust merged Into Southampton City PCT on 1 April 2002. (9) Spend per head figures for NHS trusts cannot be provided as NHS trusts receive income from commissioners outside their geographical area. (10) Population figures used are PCT responsible populations as used to inform PCT revenue allocations.  Source: The financial returns of strategic health authorities, PCTs and NHS trusts. The financial returns data is not audited but is validated to the audited summarisation schedules.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average waiting time for a knee operation in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire was in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average waiting time for a hip operation in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire was in the latest period for which information is available.

Ann Keen: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the median and mean time waited for hip and knee replacements of residents in the of East and North Hertfordshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) and West Hertfordshire PCT in 2006-07.
	
		
			  Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Days 
			   Hip  Knee 
			   Median waiting time  Mean waiting time  Median waiting time  Mean waiting time 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 163 146.3 167 151.6 
			 West Hertfordshire PCT 141 134.2 147 144.1 
			  Notes:  Main procedure The main procedure is the first recorded procedure or intervention in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and is usually the most resource intensive procedure or intervention performed during the episode. It is appropriate to use main procedure when looking at admission details, (e.g. time waited), but a more complete count of episodes with a particular procedure is obtained by looking at the main and the secondary procedure.  Hip replacement procedures: Total Hip Replacement  OPCS-4.2 codes W37—Total prosthetic replacement of hip joint using cement W38—Total prosthetic replacement of hip joint not using cement W39—Other total prosthetic replacement of hip joint  Additions in OPCS-4.3 W37.4—Revision of one component of total prosthetic replacement of hip joint using cement W38.4—Revision of one component of total prosthetic replacement of hip joint not using cement W39.5—Revision of one component of total prosthetic replacement of hip joint NEC W39.6—Closed reduction of dislocated total prosthetic replacement of hip joint W93—Hybrid prosthetic replacement of hip joint using cemented acetabular component W94—Hybrid prosthetic replacement of hip joint using cemented femoral component W95—Hybrid prosthetic replacement of hip joint using cement Hip replacement procedures: Total Prosthetic Replacement of Head of Femur (These codes are included because they are for replacement of part of the hip joint.)  OPCS-4.2 codes W46—Prosthetic replacement of head of femur using cement W47—Prosthetic replacement of head of femur not using cement W48—Other prosthetic replacement of head of femur  Additions in OPCS-4.3 W48.5—Closed reduction of dislocated prosthetic replacement of head of femur  Additions in OPCS-4.3 W40.4—Revision of one component of total prosthetic replacement of knee joint using cement W41.4—Revision of one component of total prosthetic replacement of knee joint not using cement 
			 W42.5—Revision of one component of total prosthetic replacement of knee joint NEC Hemiarthroplasty, unicondylar or unicompartmental knee replacements (These codes are included because they are for replacement of part of the knee joint.) For the following codes (W52-W54) a site code is required in the secondary position. Both codes must be included in the search. The site codes are also listed as follows.  OPCS-4.2, 4.3 W52—Prosthetic replacement of articulation of other bone using cement W53—Prosthetic replacement of articulation of other bone not using cement W54—Other prosthetic replacement of articulation of other bone The possible site codes, which would occur in a secondary procedure position (see footnote), are as follows: Z76.5—Lower end of femur NEC Z77.4—Upper end of tibia NEC Z84.4—Patellofemoral joint Z84.5—Tibiofemoral joint Z84.6—Knee joint  Secondary procedure As well as the main operative procedure, there are up to 11 and 3 prior to 2002-03 secondary operative procedure fields in HES that show secondary or additional procedures performed on the patient during the episode of care.  Data quality HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in the data, i.e. the data are ungrossed.  Time waited (days) Time waited statistics from HES are not the same as the published waiting list statistics. HES provides counts and time waited for all patients admitted to hospital within a given period, whereas the published waiting list statistics count those waiting for treatment on a specific date and how long they have been on the waiting list. Also, HES calculates the time waited as the difference between the admission and decision to admit dates. Unlike published waiting list statistics, this is not adjusted for self-deferrals or periods of medical/social suspension.  PCT/strategic health authority (SHA) data quality PCT and SHA data was added to historic data years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on  PCT of treatment and SHA of treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these  years. Data quality of PCT of general practitioner (GP) practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing  values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown  values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data. The PCTs used are as follows: 5P3—West Hertfordshire PCT 5P4—East and North Hertfordshire PCT  Method of admission The method of admission is how the patient was admitted to hospital. When calculating time waited, admissions are elective so the following methods  are used: 11 Elective—from waiting list 12 Elective—booked Code '13 Elective—planned' is not included as it has been the patients choice to defer.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The NHS Information Centre for health and social care

Tuberculosis: AIDS

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people who presented with tuberculosis in 2008 were subsequently diagnosed with acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Dawn Primarolo: Data for tuberculosis (TB) and HIV co-infection for 2008 are not yet available. The most recent data available is for 2005.
	Data from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) indicates that, in 2005, the proportion of cases of tuberculosis in England aged 15 years and over co-infected with HIV was 7.9 per cent.
	 Notes:
	1. This figure is based on the retrospective matching of the national Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance database (ETS) and the national HIV/AIDS reports database.
	2. Matching is carried out retrospectively because there is often considerable delay in reporting of cases and data are, therefore, available for 2005 only at present.
	3. This figure also includes HIV/AIDS patients with TB as an AIDS defining illness who were not identified in the national TB database.
	4. The proportion provided is for all cases of co-infection with TB and HIV because we do not have information on which infection was acquired first.
	5. This figure does not include cases of co-infection in children because HIV in children is reported separately.

Energy: Prices

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to encourage energy suppliers to  (a) publicise the availability of and  (b) maximise take-up of social tariffs by eligible customers.

Mike O'Brien: Suppliers agreed at the fuel poverty summit organised by Ofgem in April 2008, to provide greater visibility of their offers. Following this Ofgem have worked with the suppliers to ensure that information about their social tariffs and programmes and a contact phone number for consumers to check their eligibility, is available on all the suppliers' websites.
	Energy suppliers have committed to collectively spend £100 million this year, rising to £125 million next year and £150 million by 2011 on social assistance. In order to meet this commitment to Government the suppliers need to inform their customers about the assistance available to vulnerable groups through their social tariff scheme.
	Expenditure on suppliers' social assistance is monitored by Ofgem and they estimated, in a report published in December 2008, that over 800,000 customer accounts are now benefiting from a social tariff. This is a significant increase, almost doubling, since March 2008 which is a good indication of the level of awareness of the assistance suppliers offer.

Fuel Poverty

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the number of people  (a) in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency,  (b) the Tees Valley,  (c) the North East and  (d) the UK who are living in fuel poverty; and what forecast he has made of the number of people in the North East who will be living in fuel poverty in 10 years' time.

Joan Ruddock: The most recent year for which sub-regional estimates of fuel poverty are available is 2003. The data for fuel poverty levels for 2003 come from the fuel poverty indicator dataset available online at:
	http://www.fuelpovertyindicator.org.uk
	In 2003, there were around  (a) 2,400 fuel poor households in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland;  (b) 17,700 fuel poor households in the Tees Valley;  (c) 95,000 fuel poor households in the North East; and  (d) two million fuel poor households in the UK.
	No regional projections have been made of fuel poverty.
	Fuel poverty is not measured at an individual level.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have reported that they are compliant with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008.

Patrick McFadden: BERR's Information Asset Owners work with their service delivery partners to ensure adherence with the operating principles and standards set out in the Government's report on Data Handling Procedures in Government.
	I have asked the chief executives of Companies House and Insolvency Service to respond to the hon. Member directly.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 26 January 2008:
	The Minister of State, for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question (2008/346) asking what percentage of contractors and suppliers to  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have reported that they are compliant with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum action, June 2008.
	The Insolvency Service wrote to its contractors and suppliers in November 2008 regarding compliance with 'Data Handling Procedures in Government'. To date we have had 34 replies confirming positive compliance, representing 47% of the total issued.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones dated 26 January 2009
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Minister of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	We identified seven suppliers as part of the Cabinet Office Data Handling Review and have asked them to complete a questionnaire showing their status with regard to the Data Handling Procedures. Of those, four have returned the questionnaire. Subject to minor clarifications, we are content that all four are generally compliant with the procedures and working toward full compliance where applicable. We are actively chasing the remaining three suppliers for their returns.

Departmental Data Protection

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many contracts  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract.

Patrick McFadden: BERR is not aware of any jurisdictions other than the UK where any personal data are held.
	I have asked the chief executives of Companies House and Insolvency Service to respond to the hon. Member directly.
	 Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 26 January 2009:
	The Minister of State, for the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question (2008/347) asking how many contracts (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries for each contract is held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in each case of each such contract.
	The Insolvency Service supplies personal information to two contractors based outside the UK.
	The first is to a company based in the United States. The data supplied comprises details of unclaimed monies; name of estate from which the payment was made; amount and date of payment; name and address of payee. The company's role is to trace the creditors who are owed the unclaimed monies and report this information back to the Insolvency Service. Approximately 2,500 records are provided to the company each year.
	The second is a company based in France. This company is used to process Insolvency Service staff claims and is only provided with a limited amount personal information, being: staff name, pay number, grade and payment amount. Sensitive personal information, such as the bank account details are not shared with this company and is only amalgamated when the claims are back in the UK on The Insolvency Service IT System. Approximately 3,500 staff have their names and other limited personal data stores on this system.
	 Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 26 January 2009:
	I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Minister of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
	Companies House does have any contracts that allow storage of personal data overseas.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the Minister of State for Trade plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 24 October 2008 on the findings of the Community Pubs Inquiry report.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 11 December 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 21 January and am sorry for the delay in doing so. I hope to respond to the findings in the Community Pubs Inquiry report shortly. The recommendations cover the policy interests of several Government Departments and DCMS is collating a Government response.

Small Businesses: Bank Services

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent steps the Government have taken to assist small businesses to obtain lending from high street banks.

Ian Pearson: In the pre-Budget-report on 24 November 2008, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of Government support for small and medium sized businesses to help them through the current economic difficulties.
	Since then the Government have been working alongside the banks, business organisations and financial organisations to ensure that we speedily transform this announcement into real help for business.
	On 14 January 2009, as part of the Government's Real Help for Business, my noble Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, announced that businesses can now access the full range of support.
	Information on the range of schemes that are available can be found at:
	http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/realhelp

Small Businesses: Procurement

Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many contracts were awarded to small and medium-sized enterprises through the Supply2.gov.uk website in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; how many he expects to be so awarded in 2008-09; and what estimate he has made of the monetary value of such contracts.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 12 January 2009
	The supply2.gov.uk site offers consolidated access to public sector opportunities and allows businesses to search and view open lower-value contract opportunities in a single place. It does not measure contract awards. No estimate is available for the number or value of contracts won through the site.

Textiles: Imports

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his policy is on the importation of fur from Canadian black seals for use in making hats; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The Government's opposition to the annual Canadian seal hunt is well known and remains unchanged. We have lobbied to promote EU-wide action and we are pleased that on 23 July 2008, the European Commission proposed an EU-wide ban on the import, export and sale of seal products from a range of species where it cannot be proved that the seals were killed without suffering avoidable pain or distress. The Government welcomes this proposal and is working with the European Commission to introduce effective legislation as quickly as possible. Our aim is for a complete ban on the commercial trade in all pinniped products (i.e. seals, sea lions and walrus).

Whitehall and Industry Group

Francis Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the  (a) objectives and  (b) functions are of the Whitehall and Industry Group.

Ian Pearson: The objective of the Whitehall and Industry Group (WIG), which is an independent, neutral, not for profit organisation, is to provide a bridge between the private sector and Government for mutual learning and benefit.
	It does this through various means, including by arranging people exchanges between organisations; by organising events on particular issues to promote engagement between business and Government, and by running cross-sector leadership programmes.
	Further information about WIG can be found on its website:
	www.wig.co.uk.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 58W, on carbon emissions: Government departments, what distance of air travel was offset by his Department and its participating agencies in 2007-08; and what proportion of such travel was  (a) domestic,  (b) short-haul and  (c) long-haul.

Jonathan R Shaw: I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 19 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 1018-19W.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on  (a) maintaining,  (b) decorating and  (c) otherwise improving departmental buildings in the last five years; how much has been spent on wallpaper since 2001; and what plans there are for further spending on departmental decoration.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department has an estates private finance initiative (PFI) contract with Trillium for the provision of fully fitted and serviced accommodation and for which the Department pays an all inclusive unitary charge. This unitary charge includes a risk price element for all aspects of building maintenance, repair, routine decoration and refurbishment, known as Life Cycle Works. These separate elements cannot be disaggregated from the overall expenditure on Life Cycle Works. The Department has made no expenditure on wallpaper since 2001. Any future expenditure on decoration will be provided for within the unitary charge.
	Some "improvements" are not covered by the unitary charge and are funded separately as capital expenditure. Capital expenditure includes major projects, and the fit-out of new buildings, such as the rollout of the new Jobcentre Plus network and other departmental initiatives in the Pension Service and Debt Management. The Department's capital expenditure on these major projects in the last five years is provided in the following table. Separate costs for "decorating" and "otherwise improving" could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  DWP capital expenditure on major projects 2003-04 to 2007-08 
			   £ million 
			 2003-04 282.3 
			 2004-05 117.3 
			 2005-06 278.9 
			 2006-07 162.2 
			 2007-08 48.2

Departmental Catering

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what  (a) directly-operated and  (b) franchised catering outlets his Department and its agencies provides for staff.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department has a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract with Trillium for the provision of fully fitted and serviced accommodation, which includes catering. Trillium delivers the catering service through its service partner, Eurest.
	Catering is provided in 133 Department for Work and Pensions locations. All of these catering outlets are directly operated by Eurest and there are no franchised outlets. A list of all 133 locations which have catering outlets has been placed in the Library.

Departmental Databases

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1303-4W, on departmental databases, if he will list each of the identified postcode sectors in the 50 local authorities that ACORN analysis was used to target the Central Office of Information marketing and advertising.

Jonathan R Shaw: We have placed in the House Library the list of postcode sectors identified through ACORN analysis for the No Ifs, No Buts Targeting Benefit Fraud campaign.

Disability Living Allowance: Children

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims have been  (a) received and  (b) approved for disability living allowance for children below the age of (i) 18, (ii) 16 and (iii) 10 years in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Disability Living Allowance cases in payment by age for those aged less than 18 
			   All  Under 10  10-15  16-17 
			 August 1992 103,100 61,500 34,100 7,500 
			 May 1993 130,700 77,600 43,200 9,900 
			 May 1994 149,000 87,200 49,600 12,200 
			 May 1995 171,100 99,600 57,600 13,900 
			 May 1996 189,200 108,700 65,100 15,400 
			 May 1997 207,600 117,200 73,800 16,600 
			 May 1998 222,200 123,000 80,800 18,400 
			 May 1999 233,300 124,000 88,800 20,500 
			 May 2000 242,000 124,400 96,600 21,000 
			 May 2001 256,600 126,700 107,000 22,900 
			 May 2002 279,540 136,840 116,310 26,400 
			 May 2003 295,710 139,490 126,790 29,430 
			 May 2004 307,210 140,060 134,540 32,610 
			 May 2005 319,580 140,960 142,780 35,840 
			 May 2006 328,200 140,530 149,160 38,520 
			 May 2007 338,100 140,170 155,940 42,000 
			 May 2008 351,970 143,150 162,960 45,860 
			  Notes: 1. May 2002-08 figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. August 1992 - May 2001 figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 3. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 4. August 1992 is the earliest data available.  Sources: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (May 2002-08) DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample. (August 1992 to May 2001) 
		
	
	The best statistics on benefits are now derived from 100 percent data sources. However, the 5 per cent. sample data still provide some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources. DWP recommends that, where the detail is only available on the 5 per cent. sample data, the proportions derived should be applied to the overall 100 percent total for the benefit. Users should refer to the "Guidance for Users' at
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf

Discrimination: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to extend the consultation period for the Improving protection from disability discrimination consultation in line with criterion 2 of the Government's Code of Practice, as set out by the Cabinet Office; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 2 January 2009
	The Government have no plans to extend the consultation period on "Improving Protection From Disability Discrimination".
	I explained in my foreword to the consultation document that it was necessary to have a short consultation period to ensure that proper consideration could be given to how any legislative proposal would fit with the provisions in the forthcoming Equality Bill.
	In order to obtain an appropriately broad range of input to the consultation, the written consultation was supplemented by a range of discussions with key stakeholders including representatives from the fields of disability, equality, business, advice and the voluntary sector.

Employment Schemes

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people expected to gain access to the scheme announced for people unemployed for six months or more in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The £500 million package of further support we announced on 12 January 2009 includes four options: a job with a recruitment subsidy; support to start a business; volunteering opportunities, and work-related training. We expect to help a total of about 500,000 people through these options over the next two years, starting from April.
	The recruitment subsidies, support to start a business and volunteering opportunities will be available in England, Wales and Scotland and we would expect them to be spread proportionately between them. The work-related training option will apply just to England.
	In Northern Ireland, the provision of employment and skills services is the responsibility of the devolved Administration, who will continue to determine their own priorities for supporting jobseekers.

European Social Fund

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much of the European Social Fund spending announced on 15 October 2008 and 4 November 2008 has been assigned to employment projects; what those projects are; and how much in total has been  (a) assigned and  (b) spent to date.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 18 December 2008
	The £50 million of European Social Fund money announced on 15 October 2008 will support retraining and skills for people who are currently facing redundancy and those looking for work, so that they can quickly move back into sustainable employment. Provision will be delivered through the Learning and Skills Council, which plans to invite tenders in January 2009, with a view to projects being in place in spring 2009.
	The £27 million of European Social Fund money announced on 4 November 2008 will support innovative projects both to extend employment opportunities and to develop workforce skills. Of the £27 million, about £17 million will support projects to extend employment opportunities, although a precise figure cannot be provided until the application process is completed. The deadline for applications is 16 January 2009, and projects are expected to start in spring 2009. Information on successful projects will be available at that stage.

Jobcentre Plus: Breastfeeding

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 914W, on Jobcentre Plus: breastfeeding, what the outcome was of the review of the policy on breastfeeding in Jobcentre Plus offices.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves, dated 27 January 2009:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 914W, on Jobcentre Plus: breastfeeding, what the outcome was of the review of the policy on breastfeeding in Jobcentre Plus offices. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I can confirm that this review has now been completed and operational guidance was updated on 19 December 2008 to include a paragraph ensuring that all Jobcentre staff are made aware that, wherever possible, every effort must be made to provide a mother wishing to breastfeed her baby with a suitable area to do so.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking  (a) to tackle benefit fraud and  (b) to ensure that information about benefit fraudsters provided via public helplines is acted upon.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The Government are committed to paying the right benefits to the right people at the right time. As part of that commitment we have specific strategies in place to tackle both fraud and error.
	We have a well defined and successful strategy for tackling benefit fraud based on preventing, detecting and deterring fraud. Our current estimate for fraud across all benefits remains at its lowest ever level at 0.6 per cent. of benefit expenditure. This is down from 2 per cent. in 2000-01.
	Our strategy initiatives include a hard hitting media campaign, cross checking information on benefit claims against other data sources as well as professionally qualified investigators. The Fraud Investigation Service ensures that the quality and professionalism of investigation is maintained to consistently high standards providing operational direction on all fraud related matters within the Department. Although the Fraud Investigation Service is managed under Jobcentre Plus, it provides fraud investigation for all the Departments benefits.
	We also continue to develop innovative new measures such as data matching with credit reference agencies.
	We are also toughening our sanctions regime by introducing a first offence benefit penalty as part of the Welfare Reform Bill.
	Every call to the national benefit fraud hotline is examined by the Department and where appropriate the case is then passed to either the Fraud Investigation Service for investigation or to compliance teams in Jobcentres, who will scrutinise the relevant benefit claim, interview the customer and make appropriate adjustments to entitlements.
	In 2007-08 there were almost 250,000 referrals to the benefit fraud hotline by phone, via the internet and in writing, as a result of which nearly £18 million worth of recoverable overpayments were identified.

Take-up Task Force

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his Department's press release of 5 January 2009 on the Take-up Taskforce, what steps he expects the Taskforce to take consequent upon the responses it received from local authorities.

Kitty Ussher: The Take Up Taskforce has issued a Call for Evidence of examples of good practice across the UK relating to increasing take-up of benefits and tax credits by parents. The deadline for local authorities and their partners to submit evidence is 20 February 2009.
	The evidence will help to inform the Taskforce's recommendations to Government on ways to help local services support parents to take up their benefit and tax credit entitlements, in order to contribute to tackling child poverty. Recommendations will be reported in spring 2009.

Adult Education: Finance

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what the adult Learning and Skills Council budget for  (a) Hertfordshire and  (b) England was in the latest year for which figures are available.

Si�n Simon: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) budget for adult learning was set out in the latest grant letter to the LSC issued on 18 November 2008. For 2008-09 the budget is 4,275 million rising to 4,525 million in 2009-10.
	The LSC makes decisions about allocations of funding to specific areas based on strategic discussions with FE Colleges and providers, partners and other organisations. This ensures that the needs of the local communities are met and that the activity delivered supports the council's key priorities and targets. Mark Haysom, the council's chief executive, will write to the hon. Gentleman with further information including the most up to date figures available for Hertfordshire. A copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Charities

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills to which  (a) charities and  (b) voluntary organisations his Department has provided funding since it was established; and how much funding was provided to each.

Si�n Simon: The Department makes payments to charities and voluntary bodies. However to provide details on all of these would incur disproportionate cost.
	Funding provided to charities that received over 100,000 is as follows:
	
		
			  000 
			  Name of body  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Royal Anniversary Trust(1) 166 167 (2) 
			 National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)(3) 250 95 32 
			 Social Mobility Foundation  121 100 
			 UK Council for International Student Affairs 444 515 523 
			 (1) Royal Anniversary Trust funding will be confirmed at year end (2) Tbc (3) NFER funding is year to date only 
		
	
	In addition there are several charitable bodies that are contracted to provide services for the Department, which makes the following payments:
	
		
			  000 
			  Name of body  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Lifelong Learning UK 1,299 13,081 19,500 
			 NIACE(1) 2,574 10,004 5,098 
			 SKILL(2) 100 160 100 
			 PET(3) 256 255 268 
			 (1) National Institute for Adult Continuing Education (2) National Bureau for Students with Disabilities (3) Prisoners Education Trust 
		
	
	Higher education institutions have charitable status and are funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (a non-departmental public body of DIUS).
	Some of the Department's non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are registered charities. These NDPBs are contracted to provide agreed outcomes. The funding provided to these bodies by the Department and predecessor Departments are as follows:
	
		
			  000 
			  Name of body  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Design Council 6,179 6,069 6,035 
			 Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) 82,773 109,764  
			 Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)   100,000 
			  Note: QIA was part of the merger to form LSIS in October 2008; hence there are no figures for QIA in 2008-09.

Departmental Buildings

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent on  (a) maintaining,  (b) decorating and  (c) otherwise improving departmental buildings since his Department's inception; how much has been spent on wallpaper; and what plans there are for further spending on departmental decoration.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Therefore, any details prior to this date are not available.
	In 2007-08 the Department spent 4.874 million on leasehold improvements. This was mainly in respect of its building at Kingsgate House. In 2008-09 it is planned to spend some 103,000 on its leasehold improvements.
	The Department pays rent for its occupancy of Kingsgate House to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. It also pays a smaller amount for its occupancy in Moorfoot, Sheffield, to the Department for Children Schools and Families. This charge also includes facilities management charges which comprises, among other things, charges for routine maintenance, utilities, security, waste disposals and insurance.
	No money has been spent, or is planned to be spent, on wallpaper.

Departmental ICT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills with reference to the answer of 29 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1126-27W, on departmental ICT, what the  (a) expected completion date and  (b) estimated cost of each of the projects was at their outset.

Si�n Simon: According to our records, the following lists the projects currently being undertaken by DIUS and its agencies. Also shown are the originally expected dates and costs and the latest forecasts dates and total costs at completion.
	
		
			  Projects  Expected completion date  Estimated cost when complete (000)  Original expected due date  Original expected cost (000) 
			 Directory ServicesDIUS March 2009 80 January 2009 80 
			 Website Re-DesignIntellectual Property Office (IPO) December 2008 664 November 2008 664 
			 Office/Exchange 2007IPO December 2008 960 December 2008 960 
			 Register MaintenanceIPO April 2010 1,600 January 2010 1,600 
			 Enforcement Database RebuildNational Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) November 2008 40.5 August 2008 40.53 
			 Time recording systemNWML April 2009 24.9 October 2008 24.9 
			 Website DevelopmentNWML December 2008 19.9 December 2008 19.9 
			 Intranet DevelopmentNWML January 2009 9.3-14.1 December 2008 (1) 
			 (1) Full scope and cost not yet signed off

Departmental Manpower

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills with reference to the answer of 16 July 2008,  Official Report, column 503W, on departmental personnel, how many  (a) staff without posts and  (b) priority movers there are in his Department; how many of the staff without posts were classified as such upon return from maternity leave; and how many of the staff without posts have been classified as such for at least (i) six and (ii) 12 months.

Si�n Simon: There are currently nine staff in the Department who are classed as priority movers, none of whom returned directly from maternity leave. All nine priority movers have been without a permanent post for six months and four staff for 12 months.
	The Department has introduced a new brokerage service in January 2009 in support of active matching of staff into posts in the department and wider Civil Service. All staff are engaged in project work and short-term business priority posts until a permanent position is secured.

Departmental Procurement

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what proportion of invoices for goods and services procured from small and medium-sized businesses were paid within 10 days of receipt by  (a) his Department and  (b) the agencies for which his Department is responsible in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Therefore, any details prior to this date are not available.
	The information is not available in the format requested as the Department does not separately identify its suppliers as small or medium sized businesses. The Department does not discriminate by size because many small or medium sized businesses can be found within larger supply chains.
	Until October 2008, the Department was required to monitor and publish payment performance against a 30-day payment target and does not therefore currently publish information about payment within 10 days. However, following the Prime Minister's commitment of 8 October that central Government Departments will make payment within 10 days, the Department will additionally report 10-day payment performance from the period January to March 2009.
	The Department does hold information of the proportions of valid invoices for all goods and services procured and paid within 30 days of receipt by the Department and its agencies in 2007-08. These are as follows:
	
		
			   Percentage 
			 Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills 99.4 
			 National Weights and Measures Laboratory 97.0 
			 UK Intellectual Property Office 98.2 
			  Source: Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08 for each of these bodies.

Departmental Telephone Services

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what use  (a) his Department and  (b) service providers under contract to his Department make of (i) 0844 and 0845 telephone numbers and (ii) revenue-sharing telephone numbers for calls from members of the public; for which services such numbers are used; what prefixes are used for revenue-sharing numbers; how much revenue has accrued from revenue-sharing numbers in each of the last five years; what consideration his Department has given to introducing 03-prefixed telephone numbers for calls to all such services; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Comprehensive information about 0845 and similar numbers is not readily available centrally and to respond fully would involve an extensive information collection exercise which would exceed the recommended disproportionate cost threshold. However, using a variety of information and data sources, I can confirm that the following numbers are in use:
	
		
			  Access services  Telephone numbers 
			 The UK Intellectual Property OfficeStaff incident number 0845 603 4599 
			 The UK Intellectual Property Office(Minicom) 0845 922 2250 
			 The UK Intellectual Property Office 0845 950 0505 
			   
			 Biotech Support 0870 191 0111 
			 Information Society Support 0870 191 0112 
			 NMP Helpline 0870 191 0113 
			 1ST in Manufacturing 0870 191 0114 
			 SME Helpline 0870 191 0115 
			 Beta Technology (Research and Innovation Support). No longer promoted and routes to 0870 600 6080 0870 191 0116 
			 National 1ST Programme Helpline. No longer promoted and routes to 0870 600 6080 0870 606 1515 
			   
			 FP7UK Generic Helpline 0870 600 6080 
			 Transport (including Aeronautics) Helpline 0870 191 0117 
			 Space Helpline 0870 191 0118 
			 Health 0870 191 0111 
			 Information and Communication Technologies 0870 191 0112 
			 Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies 0870 191 0113 
			 Regions of knowledge 0870 191 0114 
			 SMEs 0870 191 0115 
			   
			 DIUS Order Line 0845 602 8032 
		
	
	The service for the separate numbers for specific National Contact Points within the FP7UK consortium are not run by DIUS but by external contractors managed by the Technology Strategy Board. The average number of calls to all of these helplines is 240 per month. We do not have data on revenue generated.

Sector Skills Councils: Qualifications

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what advice he has received from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills on the funding and management of the cross-sector standard setting bodies;
	(2)  what recent discussions have taken place between his Department and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills on the future of cross-sector standard setting bodies.

Si�n Simon: The UK Commission for Employment and Skills has undertaken mapping work on the coverage of National Occupational Standards (NOS) and qualifications development by Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and Standard Setting Bodies (SSBs). This recognises the need for a co-ordinated approach for national occupational standards that are commonly found across all sectors of the workforce. The UK Commission will progress arrangements for ensuring consistency across SSCs and SSBs on cross sector standards. Proposals were put to the UK Vocational Qualification Reform Programme Board in November setting out how the UK Commission intends to ensure comprehensive occupational coverage. The proposals recognise the expertise and importance of cross-sector standard setting bodies, and are currently the subject of consultation in the Devolved Administrations. In the meantime funding and management of cross-sector standard setting bodies will continue in line with current arrangements.

Skilled Workers

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which 10 employment sectors have the greatest acknowledged skills excess; and what the current level of unemployment in each sector is.

Si�n Simon: The National Employer Skills Survey is a key source of data for the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in order to understand the Skills Shortages across industry sectors. These surveys are undertaken by an independent research organisation.
	The following table is taken from the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 2007 (Published May 2008) and shows the number of skills shortage vacancies (SSVs) occurring in each SSC sector, and the density of these SSVs in comparison to total vacancies and employment.
	
		
			  Table 3.11: Number and density of vacancies by SSC (p. 56) 
			   Vacancies  SSVs (Skills shortage vacancies)  % of vacancies that are SSVs  SSVs per 1000 employees 
			 Unweighted base  52,867  10,399   
			 All England  619,675  130,000 21 6 
			 Lantra  8,450  2,475 29 8 
			 Cogent  6,650  1,400 21 4 
			 ProSkills UK  3,975  950 24 3 
			 Improve Ltd  5,300  550 10 2 
			 Skills-Fast UK  3,875  975 25 6 
			 Semta  23,200  7,150 31 6 
			 Energy and Utility Skills  6,100  500 8 2 
			 Construction Skills  36,700  14,625 40 14 
			 SummitSkills  8,075  2,000 25 9 
			 Automotive Skills  11,200  2,975 27 6 
			 Skillsmart Retail  52,675  7,250 14 3 
			 People 1st  67,725  12,675 19 8 
			 Go Skills  10,825  2,475 23 6 
			 Skills for Logistics  11,000  2,075 19 3 
			 Financial Services Skills Council  30,450  4,725 16 5 
			 Asset Skills  24,725  5,125 21 6 
			 e-Skills UK  22,650  6,275 28 10 
			 Government Skills  9,750  1,475 15 4 
			 Skills for Justice  3,900  275 7 1 
			 Lifelong Learning UK  19,500  2,625 13 3 
			 Skills for Health  30,500  3,850 13 2 
			 Skills for Care and Development  29,800  4,700 16 5 
			 Skillset  7,075  2,900 41 23 
			 Creative and Cultural Skills  7,325  1,650 23 8 
			 Skills Active  7,000  1,375 20 5 
			 Non-SSC employers  171,275  36,875 22 6 
			  Notes:  Figures rounded to the nearest 25. * is used where the base size was less than 25. Figures in italics denote base sizes of 25 to 49 and should be treated with caution. 
		
	
	It is evident from the table that there are no sectors which have an excess of skilled workers. All sectors have, to a varying degree, skills shortage vacancies.

Students: Bankruptcy

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  how many students were declared bankrupt in each of the last 15 years;
	(2)  how many students have entered into individual voluntary arrangements since such agreements were introduced.

David Lammy: Provisions were included in the Higher Education Act 2004 to prevent student loans being written off on bankruptcy. The numbers of students notifying the Student Loans Company of their bankruptcy declined from 2004 after the legislation came into effect. Currently student loans are not exempt from IVAs.
	
		
			  Borrowers who notified the Student Loans Company of their bankruptcy or IVA while studying( 1. ) England 
			  Financial year  Bankruptcy  IVA( 2) 
			 1993-94 5 0 
			 1994-95 0 0 
			 1995-96 5 0 
			 1996-97 0 0 
			 1997-98 5 0 
			 1998-99 10 0 
			 1999-2000 15 0 
			 2000-01 5 0 
			 2001-02 15 0 
			 2002-03 20 0 
			 2003-04 70 0 
			 2004-05(3) 60 5 
			 2005-06(3) 30 0 
			 2006-07(3) 15 5 
			 2007-08(3) 15 0 
			 (1) Publicly-owned loans. Figures rounded to nearest 5. (2 )IVA includes Trust Deed for students who moved to Scotland. (3 )Since 2004 student loans are not written-off due to bankruptcy. From that time the number of students notifying the SLC of their bankruptcy has declined. 
		
	
	The Government's student finance package is designed to ensure that finance should not be a barrier to a higher education course. Student loans from the Government are not like commercial loans: interest is paid at the rate of inflation, so in real terms students only pay back what they borrowed. For income contingent loans available since 1998, repayment is linked to earnings and borrowers only repay if their earnings are over 15,000 and those taking out a student loan from 2006 have their debt cancelled after 25 years.

Students: Children

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  what the average childcare grant payment to students was in the most recent period for which figures are available;
	(2)  how much his Department allocated for childcare grant awards to students in each year since 1997;
	(3)  how many and what proportion of students attending  (a) higher education institutions and  (b) foundation education colleges were women with children under the age of three in each year since 1997;
	(4)  how many and what proportion of women with children under the age of three years were classified as  (a) full-time and  (b) part-time students in each year since 1997;
	(5)  how many and what proportion of students in  (a) higher education and  (b) foundation education institutions received at least one childcare grant payment in each year since 1997;
	(6)  how much on average  (a) part-time and  (b) full-time students receiving a childcare grant received in grant payments in each year since 1997;
	(7)  for how many weeks a year students eligible for a childcare grant receive the grant.

David Lammy: The Childcare Grant is available for full-time, higher education students with dependent children in registered or approved child care; it is not available to part-time students. For 2008/09, the Childcare Grant meets 85 per cent. of actual costs up to a maximum of 148.75 per week for one child (85 per cent. of the actual costs of up to 175 a week) or up to 255 per week for two or more children (85 per cent. of the actual costs of up to 300 a week) throughout the year.
	The following table shows the number of higher education students receiving Childcare Grant in England in each year since 2004/05(1); consistent information is not available before 2004/05. The table also shows the average payment and the total expenditure in each year.
	(1) Student numbers are rounded to the nearest 100, average amounts are rounded to the nearest 10.
	
		
			  Academic year  Students  Amount ( million)  Average () 
			 2004/05 6,700 18.5 2,760 
			 2005/06 7,300 22.1 3,040 
			 2006/07 8,300 27.2 3,270 
			 2007/08 8,900 31.2 3,490 
		
	
	Students receiving Childcare Grant make up around 1 per cent. of higher education students applying for some form of student finance support.
	While information is available on students who receive a Childcare Grant, information is not held centrally which identifies students with children under three, who do not apply for a Childcare Grant. Therefore the numbers in the table do not necessarily cover all full-time students with children under the age of three. No information is held centrally which identifies part-time students with children under the age of three.

Students: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many students in each subject area received funding from the Learning and Skills Council in each year since 2003-04.

Si�n Simon: Table 1 shows the number of learner enrolments/starts by sector subject area which were funded by the Learning and Skills Council, from 2004/05 to 2007/08 academic year. Data cannot be provided on a comparable basis for 2003/04.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of learner enrolments/starts by sector subject area which were funded by the Learning and Skills Council, 2004/05 to 2007/08 
			  2004/05 
			  Sector subject area  Adult and community learning enrolments  Further education enrolments  University for industry enrolments  Work based learning starts  Train to gain starts 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 22,500 103,300 800 4,800 * 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 400,600 552,000 11,000 500 * 
			 Business, Administration and Law 12,500 396,900 74,200 40,400 * 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 15,800 158,200 2,000 25,800 * 
			 Education and Training 1,100 97,000 400 100 * 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 5,200 211,900 42,600 35,400 * 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 63,700 1,039,100 25,400 25,700 * 
			 History, Philosophy and Theology * 143,800 800 * * 
			 Information and Communication Technology 111,800 907,600 430,900 6,100 * 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture 117,300 410,000 27,200 * * 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 303,200 277,800 1,200 6,800 * 
			 Preparation for Life and Work 176,000 2,294,100 392,000 300 * 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 36,100 291,900 700 45,800 * 
			 Science and Mathematics 4,700 345,900 800 * * 
			 Social Sciences 29,900 132,900 100 * * 
			 Not Known 1,300 649,500 300 58,100 * 
			 Total 1,301,900 8,012,000 1,010,500 249,800 * 
		
	
	
		
			  2005/06 
			  Sector subject area  Adult and community learning enrolments  Further education enrolments  University for industry enrolments  Work based learning starts  Train to gain starts 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 18,400 92,600 500 4,200 500 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 367,100 495,800 5,000 300 * 
			 Business, Administration and Law 8,100 331,800 53,200 38,500 4,800 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 8,600 150,200 * 21,700 4,100 
			 Education and Training 8,500 107,200 500 100 300 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 7,900 200,600 18,200 31,100 5,400 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 72,800 862,200 15,700 22,700 8,000 
			 History, Philosophy and Theology 17,800 138,400 700 *  
			 Information and Communication Technology 125,900 716,300 264,000 7,500 600 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture 99,800 353,300 12,300 * * 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 207,800 226,700 1,100 5,900 500 
			 Preparation for Life and Work 190,100 2,321,800 563,300 * 3,600 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 40,000 276,000 1,400 40,200 4,600 
			 Science and Mathematics 3,700 308,100 1,000 * * 
			 Social Sciences 4,700 92,900 100 *  
			 Not Known 1,300 596,800 * 55,800 * 
			 Total 1,182,600 7,270,700 937,100 228,200 32,400 
		
	
	
		
			  2006/07 
			  Sector subject area  Adult and community learning enrolments  Further education enrolments  University for industry enrolments  Work based learning starts  Train to gain starts 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 15,500 79,900 100 3,900 2,800 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 325,600 449,200 1,700 200 100 
			 Business, Administration and Law 9,200 311,600 10,200 37,400 32,900 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 6,800 139,000 * 27,500 32,400 
			 Education and Training 8,900 94,600 100 100 2,000 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 6,500 164,900 5,100 34,700 24,600 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 69,900 590,700 3,800 23,700 47,000 
			 History, Philosophy and Theology 15,500 131,800 200 *  
			 Information and Communication Technology 129,100 513,600 103,700 6,400 5,900 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture 102,600 304,500 3,100 * * 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 166,200 212,900 200 5,600 5,000 
			 Preparation for Life and Work 213,300 1,868,600 466,700 * 19,300 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 34,600 230,700 300 43,000 34,200 
			 Science and Mathematics 4,600 302,600 700 * 100 
			 Social Sciences 1,900 86,400 * *  
			 Not Known * 564,800 29,700 53,300 * 
			 Total 1,110,200 6,045,800 625,900 235,900 206,300 
		
	
	
		
			  2007/08 
			  Sector subject area  Adult and community learning enrolments  Further education enrolments  University for industry enrolments  Work based learning starts  Train to gain starts 
			 Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care 15,400 75,800 * 4,500 5,700 
			 Arts, Media and Publishing 300,800 428,200 100 100 100 
			 Business, Administration and Law 6,800 322,300 7,700 51,800 49,700 
			 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment 5,400 142,800 * 27,800 49,100 
			 Education and Training 10,100 93,700 1,300 300 3,400 
			 Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 5,200 163,100 6,800 43,100 39,200 
			 Health, Public Services and Care 74,300 535,400 3,800 31,100 73,100 
			 History, Philosophy and Theology 14,600 106,100 100 *  
			 Information and Communication Technology 127,200 402,500 44,400 8,000 8,400 
			 Languages, Literature and Culture 100,100 276,200 900 * * 
			 Leisure, Travel and Tourism 137,300 219,400 200 6,300 9,400 
			 Preparation for Life and Work 199,400 1,763,600 499,700 * 37,600 
			 Retail and Commercial Enterprise 35,900 209,500 * 49,300 56,000 
			 Science and Mathematics 3,800 300,200 1,100 * 100 
			 Social Sciences 1,900 85,800 * *  
			 Not Known * 595,700 165,100 58,200 * 
			 Total 1,038,200 5,720,200 731,200 280,600 331,800 
			 '*' = Indicates a figure of less than 50.  Notes: 1. Data for ACL, Further Education and UFI is based on learner enrolments. One learner may enrol on more than one course e.g. 2 A levels and will be counted for each learning aim they are recorded on. 2. Data for Work-based learning and Train to Gain is based on learner starts, by year in which the programme of learning was started. 3. Data for Work-based learning includes apprenticeships (all levels) and Entry to Employment. 4. Data does not exist on a comparable basis prior to 2004/05. 5. Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. 7. Train to gain was launched in April 2006, so comparable data does not exist for 2004/05.  Source: Individualised Learner records

10 Downing Street: Cost Effectiveness

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer of 17 July 2008,  Official Report, column 625W, on Downing Street: cost effectiveness, what Gershon savings have been made by 10 Downing Street in each year since the requirements for such savings were set.

Kevin Brennan: The Prime Minister's Office forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office. Details of the Cabinet Office's Gershon Efficiency Programme in relation to SR 2004 were reported in full for the final time in Cabinet Office Autumn Performance Report 2008 which is available in the Libraries of the House for the reference of Members.

10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the internal works to No. 10 Downing Street associated with the planning application with Westminster City Council reference 08/00696/1884 have been completed; and what expenditure has been incurred on them.

Eric Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much has been spent from the public purse in connection with work in 10 Downing Street associated with Westminster City Council planning application reference 08/00696/1884; and on what date the work was completed.

Kevin Brennan: The work has been completed. Expenditure figures for 2008-09 will be available after the end of the financial year, once the Cabinet Office accounts have been audited and laid before Parliament.

Carers: Vocational Training

David Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will bring forward proposals for extended periods of work experience, training and mentoring for care leavers as part of development of policy under the New Opportunities: Fair Chances for the Future White Paper.

Beverley Hughes: I have been asked to reply.
	Our White Paper New Opportunities: Fair chances for the Future includes a commitment to improve the support given to care leavers. The Government will fund the National Care Advisory Service for the next two years to work with local authorities and national employers to develop and test models of support into employment. These models will be extended to half of all local authorities in 2010-11 as part of a phased national roll out. They will include ensuring that care leavers are able to have the opportunity to benefit from apprenticeships, work experience and career mentoring to put them on the path to success.
	We will also be taking steps so that from September 2009 all suitably qualified care leavers will be offered an apprenticeship place, with a view to making this a legal entitlement from 2013.

Central Government: Manpower

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the Office of National Statistics' Public Sector Employment figures for  (a) Q2 2008 and  (b) Q3 2008, what increases in the employee headcount of which Government (a) Departments and (b) agencies account for the overall increase in central Government employment; and by how much the headcount increased in each case.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated January 2009:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question, with reference to the Office for National Statistics' Public Sector Employment figures for (a) Q2 2008 and (b) Q3 2008, what increase in the employee headcount of which Government (a) departments and (b) agencies account for the overall increase in central government employment; and by how much the headcount increased in each case. (249905)
	In Q2 2008, employment in central government increased by 10,000. This increase was driven by a growth in employment in the NHS (12,000 increase). In the same period, the number of employees in the Civil Service decreased by 3,000 (Annex A). A full breakdown of government department and agencies for Q2 2008 is presented in Annex B.
	In Q3 2008, employment in central government increased by 15,000, primarily because of growth in employment in the NHS (21,000 increase). The number of employees in the Civil Service remained the same as the previous quarter (Annex A). A full breakdown of government departments and agencies for Q3 2008 is presented in Annex B.
	
		
			  Annex A: Public sector employment 2008, United Kingdom 
			  Headcount, seasonally adjusted (Thousand) 
			   Central Government( 1, 2. 3. 4)  National health service( 1)  Civil service( 3)  Total public sector 
			 Q1 2,480 1,507 525 5,737 
			 Q2 2,490 1,519 522 5,750 
			 Q3 2,505 1,540 522 5,764 
			 (1) NHS based on projections. (2) National probation service (England and Wales) re-classified from local government to central Government from April 2005. (3) Magistrates Court Service transferred from local government to central Government (and civil service) from April 2005. (4) Central Government includes all administrative departments of government, other central agencies and non-departmental public bodies. It also includes HM forces, the national health service and education academies.  Source: (Unpublished) Public Sector Employment. 
		
	
	
		
			  Annex B: Change in civil service employment Q2 and Q3 2008( 1) , Great Britain 
			  Headcount, not seasonally adjusted 
			   Change on quarter 
			   Q2 2008  Q3 2008 
			  Attorney-General's departments   
			 Crown Prosecution Service 10 100 
			 Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate 0 10 
			 Attorney-General's Office -10 * 
			 Serious Fraud Office 0 10 
			 Treasury Solicitor 20 30 
			 Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office 10 10 
			
			  Cabinet Office   
			 Cabinet Office excluding agencies 30 -20 
			
			  Other Cabinet Office agencies   
			 Central Office of Information -70 20 
			 National School of Government 10 20 
			 Parliamentary Counsel Office * * 
			
			  HM Treasury   
			 HM Treasury -10 50 
			
			  Chancellor's other departments   
			 Debt Management Office 0 * 
			 Government Actuary's Department * * 
			 National Savings and Investments 0 10 
			 Office of Government Commerce * * 
			 OGC Buying Solutions 0 * 
			 Office for National Statistics(2) -3,350  
			 Royal Mint 50 0 
			
			  UK Statistics Authority   
			 UK Statistics Authority(2, 3, 4) 3,850 -30 
			
			  Charity Commission   
			 Charity Commission -10 * 
			  Communities and Local Government   
			 Department for Communities and Local Government -40 -60 
			 Fire Service College 0 0 
			 Ordnance Survey 0 20 
			 Planning Inspectorate * 20 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 0 * 
			
			  Culture, Media and Sport   
			 Department for Culture Media and Sport 10 -20 
			 Royal Parks * 0 
			
			  Defence   
			 Ministry of Defence 700 -550 
			 Defence Support Group -30 180 
			 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory 30 30 
			 Meteorological Office 30 30 
			 UK Hydrographic Office -10 -10 
			
			  Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills   
			 Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills 30 -60 
			 National Weights and Measures Laboratory 0 * 
			 UK Intellectual Property Office -20 10 
			
			  Department for Children, Schools and Families   
			 Department for Children, Schools and Families -120 * 
			
			  Ofsted   
			 Ofsted -60 120 
			
			  Environment, Food and Rural Affairs   
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs -20 20 
			 Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science 20 10 
			 Central Science Laboratory 40 -40 
			 Government Decontamination Services 0 0 
			 Marine Fisheries Agency 0 10 
			 Ofwat 10 0 
			 Pesticides Safety Directorate(5) -180  
			 Rural Payments Agency -70 60 
			 State Veterinary Service -10 * 
			 Veterinary Laboratories Agency -40 0 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate * 0 
			
			  Export Credits Guarantee Department   
			 Export Credit Guarantee Department 0 -10 
			
			  Foreign and Commonwealth Office   
			 Foreign and Commonwealth Office (excluding agencies) -20 -10 
			 Wilton Park Executive Agency * 0 
			  Health   
			 Department of Health (excluding agencies) * -10 
			 Food Standards Agency -10 0 
			 Meat Hygiene Service -90 -50 
			 Medical and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency 10 * 
			 National Healthcare Purchasing and Supplies * 0 
			 NHS Business Services Authority -10 0 
			
			  HM Revenue and Customs   
			 HM Revenue and Customs -1,350 -1,380 
			 Valuation Office -180 -40 
			
			  Home Office   
			 Home Office (excluding agencies) -150 -50 
			 Assets Recovery Agency(6) -180 - 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 0 -60 
			 Identity and Passport Service(3) 680 -60 
			 UK Border Agency -240 * 
			 Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism 30 -40 
			
			  International Development   
			 Department for International Development -10 -10 
			
			  Justice   
			 Ministry of Justice (excluding agencies) -60 -260 
			 HM Courts Service 270 30 
			 Land Registry -10 -30 
			 National Archives 20 -10 
			 Public Guardianship Office -10 20 
			 Tribunals Service -80 40 
			 Scotland Office * 0 
			 Wales Office 0 0 
			 Public Sector Prison Service 110 270 
			
			  Northern Ireland Office   
			 Northern Ireland Office 0 0 
			
			  Security and Intelligence Services   
			 Security and Intelligence Services 50 150 
			
			  Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform   
			 Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 40 60 
			 Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service 0 30 
			 Companies House 30 -10 
			 Insolvency Service 30 -40 
			 Office of Fair Trading -20 10 
			 Office of Gas and Electricity Market -20 20 
			 Postal Services Commission 10 -10 
			
			  Transport   
			 Department for Transport 40 0 
			 Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 270 -70 
			 Driving Standards Agency 40 10 
			 Government Car and Despatch Agency * 10 
			 Highways Agency 30 -20 
			 Maritime and Coastguard Agency -30 -60 
			 Office of Rail Regulation -10 -10 
			 Vehicle Certification Agency * * 
			 Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 40 50 
			
			  Work and Pensions   
			 DWP Corporate and Shared Services 90 1,130 
			 Child Support Agency 10 -170 
			 Job Centre Plus 80 450 
			 Disability and Carers(7) -6,270  
			 Pensions and Disability Carers Service(7) 6,340 -580 
			 Health and Safety Executive 180 -50 
			 Rent Service 0 -70 
			
			  Scottish Government   
			 Scottish Government (excluding agencies)(8) 400 40 
			 Communities Scotland(8) -350  
			 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service 30 50 
			 Courts Group * * 
			 Fisheries Research Services 10 0 
			 General Register Scotland 10 10 
			 HM Inspectorate of Education 10 0 
			 Historic Scotland 80 -110 
			 National Archive for Scotland 10 -10 
			 Office of Accountant in Bankruptcy 10 10 
			 Registers of Scotland 50 0 
			 Scottish Agricultural Scientific Agency(8) -150  
			 Scottish Buildings Standards Agency(8) -30  
			 Scottish Court Service 50 10 
			 Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency 0 * 
			 Scottish Prison Service Headquarters -20 0 
			 Scottish Public Pensions Agency 10 * 
			 Social Work Inspection Agency 0 0 
			 Student Awards Agency 20 -10 
			 Transport Scotland 20 20 
			 Office for the Scottish Charity Regulator * 0 
			 Mental Health Tribunal Scotland 0 * 
			 Scottish Housing Regulator(9) 60 0 
			
			  Welsh Assembly   
			 Welsh Assembly Government -80 0 
			 ESTYN 0 * 
			 Total employment -800 -700 
			 (1) Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10, and numbers less than five are represented by *. Data not available is represented by . (2) The UK Statistics Authority (the Authority) was established on 1 April 2008, when the 'Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007' came into effect. One of the functions of the Authority is to oversee the Office for National Statistics (ONS)its Executive office. As such, one departmental return has been made for the Authority incorporating ONS. (3) On 1 April 2008, employees of the General Register Office were transferred from the UK Statistics Authority to the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). (4) As of 1 April 2008, field interviewers are now classified as civil servants and are included as UK Statistics Authority employees. (5) On 1 April, the Pesticides Safety Directorate became an Executive agency of the Health and Safety Executive. (6) As of 1 April 2008, the Assets Recovery Agency merged with the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). (7) The Disability and Carers Service and the Pension Service are now called the Pension, Disability and Carers Service. (8) Communities Scotland, Scottish Agricultural Science Agency and Scottish Building Standards Agency were abolished on 1 April 2008. Staff moved into the Scottish Government. (9) Scottish Housing Regulator was set-up on 1 April 2008.

Departmental Standards

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the Cabinet Office's definition of avoidable contact as referred to in its Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) 4 (Key Progress Measure 1) is; and whether the Cabinet Office has sole responsibility for delivery against the targets associated with DSO 4.

Tom Watson: The Cabinet Office defines avoidable contact as
	contact that adds no value to the outcome. It includes contact that is nugatory, duplicative or caused by failures in business processes.
	This is the definition as set out in the 2007 Service Transformation Agreement Progress Measure 1.
	The targets associated with DS04 were derived from the two progress measures set out in the 2007 Service Transformation Agreement. These relate to Avoidable Contact reduction and rationalisation of Government websites. Responsibility for delivering these targets lies with the Departments responsible for delivering the relevant services. Responsibility for tracking progress, encouraging changes that will enable these targets to be met and fostering sharing of best practice lies with the Cabinet Office.

Futurebuilders Fund

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2008,  Official Report, column 835W, on Futurebuilders: Catz Club, which body scrutinises and evaluates the activities of the Futurebuilders Fund in place of the Futurebuilders Advisory Panel.

Kevin Brennan: The Futurebuilders programme is delivered by Futurebuilders England Ltd. under contract to the Cabinet Office. Oversight is provided by the following mechanisms:
	internal and external audit, as part of the Cabinet Office, including the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee
	through reporting to Cabinet Committees, where appropriate.
	Sheffield Hallam University is carrying out an independent evaluation of the Futurebuilders programme.
	In addition, the new Third Sector Advisory Body is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Third Sector Review commitments and priorities and advising on Office of the Third Sector programmes, including Futurebuilders.

Government Departments: Standards

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many joint avoidable contact workshops were held in November and December 2008; and which Government departments were represented at such workshops.

Tom Watson: Four avoidable contact workshops were held in November and December 2008two for local government on 11 November and 25 November, and two for central government departments on 26 November and 8 December. The following departments and agencies attended the central government workshops:
	The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department for Transport (DfT), the Department of Health (DH), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), NHS Direct, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the National Archives, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), UK Borders Agency (UKBA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Income: Families

Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of families in England have a gross income of less than 58,000 per year.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	24.2 million families, 91 per cent. of all families, have a gross income of less than 58,000 per year.
	 Notes:
	1. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 26,000 households.
	2. Data for 2006-07 was collected between April 2006 and March 2007.
	3. The figures are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to Government office region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
	4. Weekly income is based on self-assessment and therefore may be subject to misreporting.
	5. Income data on the Family Resource Survey is not equivalised. Equivalisation is the process in which household income is adjusted to account for variation in household size and composition.
	6. Family has been interpreted to mean benefit unit, which is defined as a single adult or a couple living as married and any dependent children. Same-sex partners (and cohabitees) are also included in the same benefit unit.
	7. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	 Source:
	Family Resources Survey, 2006-07

Castle View Secondary School: Playing Fields

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions his Department has had with  (a) Essex County Council and  (b) Castle Point Borough Council on the disposal of Castle View Secondary School playing fields for housing development; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: As part of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and its delivery agentsPartnerships for Schools (PfS), have not engaged in any discussions with Essex county council or Castle Point borough council regarding the disposal of Castle View secondary school playing fields for housing development.

Children: Poverty

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the Government's policy is on tackling non-financial aspects of child poverty; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: Polices on early years, education, health and communities set out in our Children's Plan together with those in our New Opportunities White Paper will help to break the cycles of inter-generational poverty for the future while ensuring that all children get the best start in life now.
	For those who can, work remains the surest and most sustainable route out of poverty. Our policies on welfare reform, childcare, back to work help, skills development and in-work support will further increase parental employment and family income.
	Legislation, planned for this session, will ensure all levels of government play their part in delivering these policies and meeting our target to eradicate child poverty by 2020.

Children's Centres

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Sure Start children's centres are in operation.

Beverley Hughes: There are currently 2,920 Sure Start Children's Centres in England providing access to services to over 2.3 million children and their families.
	By 2010 there will be at least 3,500 centres, one for every community, offering permanent and universal provision to help ensure that every child gets the best start in life.

Departmental Buildings

Lee Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent on  (a) maintaining,  (b) decorating and  (c) otherwise improving departmental buildings in each year since the Department's inception; how much has been spent on wallpaper in that time; and what plans there are for further spending on departmental decoration.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families was created on 28 June 2007.
	Information since this time on the amount of expenditure broken down into  (a) maintaining,  (b) decorating and  (c) otherwise improving departmental buildings; wall paper and plans for further spending on departmental decoration could be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Departmental Personnel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 25 June 2008,  Official Report, columns 405W, on departmental manpower, how many priority movers there are in his Department; how many of them were classified as such after returning from maternity leave; and how many staff have been classified as such for at least  (a) six and  (b) 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department currently has eight priority movers, none of whom are returning from maternity leave as these staff return to their previous work areas.
	All staff are actively engaged in work during this transition period, on either key projects or short-term business priority posts.
	There are currently no priority movers over six months.

Departmental Responsibilities

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether his Department's three year skills strategy has been finalised.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department's Skills Strategy for its staff has been finalised and will be communicated to staff in early 2009 as part of a wider People Strategy.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 22 December 2008,  Official Report, column 10W, on education maintenance allowance, what meetings he has had with the Learning and Skills Council to monitor the administration of education maintenance allowance payments.

Jim Knight: During October and November 2008, DCSF Ministers met with the Learning and Skills Council on 9 occasions specifically to discuss the administration of EMA payments.

Education: Assessments

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what qualifications are considered equivalent to  (a) GCSE and  (b) A level by his Department.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: All level 2 qualifications approved under section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act (2000) contribute towards the reported performance at key stage 4.
	Similarly, all level 3 qualifications approved under the Act contribute to reported performance at post-16.
	An exhaustive list of equivalent qualifications and the size of their contributions can be found at QCA's National Database of Accredited Qualifications website:
	http://www.ndaq.org.uk.

GCSE

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the GCSE and equivalent results were for pupils attending  (a) maintained and  (b) all schools at the end of Key Stage 4 in each local authority in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The GCSE and equivalent results for pupils attending maintained schools at the end of key stage 4 in each local authority area are shown in the following Statistical First Releases. Figures for part (b) are not published.
	 GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2007/08 (Revised):
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000826/index.shtml (table 18).
	 GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England 2006/07 (Revised):
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000768/index.shtml (table 18).
	 GCSE and Equivalent Examination Results in England 2005/06 (Revised):
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000702/index.shtml (table 18).
	 GCSE and Equivalent Results and Associated Value Added Measures in England  2004/05 (Revised):
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000631/index.shtml (table 29c).
	 GCSE and Equivalent Results and Associated Value Added Measures for Young People in England 2003/04 (Revised):
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000549/index.shtml (table A-C).
	Note that figures for 2003/04 are for 15-year-old candidates as figures for pupils at the end of key stage 4 are not published.

GCSE and A-level: Foreign Languages

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many candidates sat modern languages examinations at  (a) GCSE and  (b) A level in each of the last five years, broken down by language studied.

Jim Knight: The information requested can be found in the following tables. The latest GCSE figures are taken from the Statistical First Release GCSE and Equivalent Results in England, 2007/08 (Revised) and can be found in table 10 at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000826/index.shtml.
	
		
			  GCSE attempts and achievements in selected subjects of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in schools (numbers). Coverage: England 
			  Thousand 
			   French  German  Spanish  Italian  Other foreign languages( 1) 
			 2004(2) 289.8 116.3 53.5 n/a 21.9 
			 2005 244.9 99.2 52.2 3.1 18.3 
			 2006 209.8 84.8 52.1 3.1 18.2 
			 2007 189.7 75.8 53.8 3.2 18.5 
			 2008 176.4 71.1 57.0 3.5 19.1 
			 n/a = Not available (1) The 2004 figure includes Italian. (2) Number of GCSE entries by pupils aged 15. 
		
	
	The A-level figures are taken from the Statistical First Release GCE/VCE/Applied A/AS and Equivalent Results in England, 2007/08 (Revised) and can be found in table 11 at
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000827/index.shtml.
	
		
			  Number of A-level entries 2004-08 
			  Thousand 
			   French  German  Spanish  Other foreign languages 
			 2004 12.5 5.6 4.7 4.3 
			 2005 12.0 5.2 4.9 4.5 
			 2006 12.2 5.5 5.2 5.1 
			 2007 12.2 5.6 5.5 5.1 
			 2008 12.6 5.6 5.7 5.5

GCSE and A-level: Foreign Languages

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what foreign languages are offered for study at  (a) GCSE and  (b) A level.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The following modern languages are offered both at GCSE and A Level: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Modern Greek, Bengali, Modern Hebrew, Panjabi, Polish, Dutch, Gujarati, Persian, Portuguese, Turkish, French, German, Spanish, Irish, Italian, Urdu, Russian. Latin and Ancient Greek are also offered at GCSE and A Level.

Languages: Pre-School Education

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether children are able to meet the assessment areas in the early years foundation stage in a language other than English.

Beverley Hughes: The Early Years Foundation Stage Profile sums up and describes each child's development and learning achievements at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It is based on ongoing observation and assessment in six areas of learning.
	Personal, social and emotional development
	Communications, language and literacy
	Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy
	Knowledge and understanding of the world
	Physical development
	Creative development
	All of the assessment scales in each area of learning can be assessed in the home language, for those learning English as an additional language. However, scale points 4-9 of the communication, language and literacy scales should be assessed in English.

National Curriculum Tests: Contracts,

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2009,  Official Report, column 848W, on national curriculum tests: contracts, on what date each risk assessment referred to in the answer was reported to Ministers.

Jim Knight: As a matter of course, officials regularly provided Ministers with briefing and updates on test cycle progress, covering current issues, risks and remedial action taken. Officials reported their assessment of key risks to National Curriculum test delivery to Ministers in submissions on 7 February 2008, 2 April 2008 and 10 June 2008. Ministers responded to these assessments by seeking reassurance from QCA and NAA that they had suitable action in hand to secure delivery of their contractors' obligations.

Play

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent guidance his Department has issued to early years settings on children learning through free play.

Beverley Hughes: The Early Years Foundation Stage is based on facilitating development and learning through play. Alongside the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage published in March 2007, we issued a package of materials comprising Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This guidance contains advice and additional information for practitioners on how to implement the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage through play. The guidance includes a CD-ROM which directs providers to a range of additional information and provides examples of effective practice.
	The National Strategies have also published a range of additional guidance on the areas of learning within the EYFS which must be delivered through planned and purposeful play.

Play: Tyne and Wear

Doug Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding the Government has released to local authorities within the Tyne and Wear area for the maintenance of existing children's play areas and the establishment of new ones in the last 12 months.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Our public consultations have shown a consistent and strong demand from children and families for better outdoor play spaces near to where they live. In the Children's Plan we committed to invest an additional 235 million to fund up to 3,500 new and refurbished public play areas nationally, to transform local provision.
	As part of this programme of investment from 2008-09 to 2010-11, all local authorities will be designated as play Pathfinders or Playbuilders. On average all play Pathfinder authorities will receive 2 million capital funding and 500,000 revenue funding over the course of the programme and Playbuilder authorities will receive around 1 million capital and 45,000 revenue funding. Play Pathfinder authorities will develop a minimum of 28 play areas and a new staffed adventure playground, while Playbuilder authorities will develop a minimum of 22 play areas by 2011. This includes both new play areas and significant refurbishment of existing play areas.
	There are currently two play Pathfinder authorities (North Tyneside and Sunderland) and two Playbuilder authorities (Gateshead and Newcastle) in the Tyne and Wear area. The following tables show the capital and revenue funding allocations each of these four authorities will receive for 2008-09.
	As part of the launch of the Play Strategy on 10 August we announced the next wave of our capital programme roll-out. For the Tyne and Wear area this means that from April 2009 one of the existing Playbuilders, Newcastle, will become a play Pathfinder and the fifth authority in the area not currently receiving funding, South Tyneside, will become a Playbuilder.
	
		
			  Pathfinders 
			   
			   2008-09 
			  Local authority  Capital funding  Revenue funding 
			 North Tyneside 588,223 136,839 
			 Sunderland 596,450 138,839 
		
	
	
		
			  Playbuilders 
			   
			   2008-09 
			   Capital Funding  Revenue Funding 
			 Newcastle Upon Tyne 307,407 12,730 
			 Gateshead 300,619 12,553

Pre-School Education: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1498W, on pre-school education: finance, when he expects the child care strategy to be published.

Beverley Hughes: The child care strategy document will be published on 28 January 2009.

Pupils: Bath

Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was provided  (a) per primary school pupil and  (b) per secondary school pupil in Bath and North East Somerset in 2007-08.

Jim Knight: The per pupil revenue funding figures for Bath and North East Somerset for 2007-08 and 2008-09 are shown in the following table. Since 2006-07 the dedicated schools grant (DSG) is the main source of school funding. As the DSG is distributed through a single guaranteed unit of funding and is distributed from central to local government. A primary/secondary split is not available. The figures are for all funded pupils aged three to 19 and are provided in cash terms:
	
		
			   DSG + grants per pupilBath and North East Somerset 
			
			 2007-08 4,270 
			 2008-09 4,430 
			  Notes: 1. Price Base: Cash. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Schools: Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which schools in the National Challenge initiative reported a budget surplus in the last year for which data are available; and how much the surplus was in each case.

Jim Knight: I have placed the information requested in the Library. It sets out the value of the budget surplus as at 31 March 2008, for those maintained schools which are being supported with National Challenge funding. Please note that all the figures provided here for 2007-08 exclude schools in Cumbria as that local authority have yet to make a 2007-08 Section 52 Outturn submission.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been paid to each national challenge school since June 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I have placed the information in both Libraries. It shows the amount of funding which has been agreed through National Challenge funding plans. It excludes maintained schools below the floor in city challenge areas (which are funded on a different basis).

Special Educational Needs

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils had special educational needs without statements in January 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: There were 1,390,670 pupils that had special educational needs that did not have statements, this represents 17.2 per cent. of pupils on roll across all schools. The figures are taken from the 'Special Educational Needs in England: January 2008' Statistical First Release, the latest of which can be found online at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000794/index.shtml.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many maintained special schools  (a) opened and  (b) closed in 2007-08, broken down by local authority; and how many of those which opened were new builds;
	(2)  how many representations his Department has received on the closure of special schools since its inception.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department's records, based on the available information provided by local authorities for the number of maintained special schools opened and closed in the academic year 2007-08, is given in the following tables. Information on the number of maintained special school opened in 2007-08 which were newly built is not available.
	
		
			  Local authority maintained special schools openings by local authority academic year 2007-08 
			  Local authority  Total 
			 Barnsley 1 
			 Bromley 1 
			 Coventry 1 
			 Derby 1 
			 Doncaster 5 
			 Lancashire 3 
			 Peterborough 1 
			 Portsmouth 1 
			 Rochdale 3 
			 Sheffield 1 
			 Walsall 2 
			 Wigan 1 
			 Worcestershire 2 
			   
			 Total 23 
		
	
	
		
			  Local authority maintained special schools closures by local authority academic year 2007-08 
			  Local authority  Total 
			 Bedfordshire 1 
			 Bristol City of 1 
			 Coventry 2 
			 Doncaster 7 
			 Lancashire 3 
			 Sheffield 2 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 1 
			 Walsall 1 
			 Wigan 2 
			   
			 Total 20 
			  Source: Edubase 
		
	
	The Department receives a number of representations on special educational needs issues. Representations on the closure of special schools are not recorded separately.

Special Educational Needs

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what funding he plans to provide to local authorities to enable them to implement the speech, language and communication needs action plan;
	(2)  which local authorities have been selected as local area pathfinders under the speech, language and communication needs action plan.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Local authorities already have substantial funding to support children with special educational needs (SEN), including SLCN. Local authorities planned expenditure to support children with SEN - including speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)is approximately 5.1 billion in 2008-09 (up from 2.1 billion in 2001-02). The pathfinder programme announced in Better Communication, the SLCN action plan published in December 2008, will demonstrate how local authorities and primary care trusts can prioritise and commission services for children with SLCN more efficiently and effectively within existing overall resources.
	Details of how we will select the pathfinders and details of the funding available will be announced in due course.

Special Educational Needs

Greg Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost to local authorities was of residential school placements for children with statements of special educational needs in England in the last year for which figures are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is not collected centrally by the Department. However, during the 2008-09 financial year local authorities in England budgeted net expenditure of over 5.1 billion for the provision of education for children with special educational needs. It is not possible to identify how much of this 5.1 billion was for the total cost of residential school placements for children with statements of special educational needs as the data is not collected in that way.

Young Offender Institutions: Education

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which young offender institutions have been found by inspectors to be providing too narrow a curriculum; and what steps he is taking to remedy the issue.

Beverley Hughes: Inspection reports on individual Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) are public documents and available on-line and contain specific assessments of the education provision. The annual report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills 2007/08 reported that the range of vocational provision for children and young people in secure settings is often too narrow. However, the current re-tendering process for the Offender Learning and Skills Service contracts for the provision of education and training in YOIs has set clear requirements for the core curriculum in YOIs. We also published our plans to improve education and training in custody within the Youth Crime Action Plan (July 2008). This included a commitment to place local authorities in the lead for securing education in juvenile custody, and this is scheduled to form part of the forthcoming Children, Skills and Learning Bill. The aim is to ensure education in custody meets young peoples' personal needs and so far as is practical matches that available for children and young people in the mainstream education system.